NEARLY 10,000 college freshmen marched through the historic Arch of the Centuries in the annual Thomasian Welcome Walk on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
A total of 14,976 first-year university and high school students enrolled for Academic Year 2019-2020, latest data from the Office of the Registrar showed. This was an 11 percent decline from last year’s 16,827.
The total is broken down as follows: 9,909 first-year college students, 1,053 graduate students, 3,410 Grade 11 senior high school students, 436 Grade 7 junior high school students, 87 Grade 7 Education High School students and 81 review students.
The Faculty of Engineering had the most number of first-year students with 1,110. The Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Graduate School followed with 1,042 and 1021, respectively.
The traditional rite of passage for freshmen was divided into two batches.
The morning welcome rite was attended by freshmen from the AMV College of Accountancy, College of Education, College of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Faculty of Engineering, College of Science, College of Commerce and Business Administration, College of Rehabilitation Sciences and Institute of Physical Education and Athletics.
Freshmen from the Ecclesiastical Faculties, Conservatory of Music, Institute of Information and Computing Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Arts and Letters, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, College of Nursing, College of Fine Arts and Design, College of Architecture and Faculty of Civil Law passed through the arch in the afternoon.
The Senior High School welcome parade will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 7.
The University will still accept enrollees until Aug. 20.
This year marks the 17th anniversary of the Welcome Walk tradition. R. R. L. Arugay
