The Class of 2013 is the most racially and ethnically diverse class since Cornell began tracking such statistics. That's according to the latest numbers on the 2009 entering freshman class at Cornell. About 36 percent of first-year students identified themselves as "students of color," a 4 percent increase from the Class of 2012, at 32 percent.

Cornell's Office of Institutional Research and Planning began keeping statistics on incoming students' racial and ethnic status in 1982. Since then, the Class of 2013 has the highest percentage of minority students of any class. In addition, 20 percent of the first-year students self-identify as a member of an underrepresented racial or ethnic group: African-American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic-American and Native American.

"The diversity of the class is accompanied by strength and excellence in overall academic quality," said Doris Davis, Cornell's associate provost for admissions and enrollment. Of the freshmen who attended schools that report class rank, 88 percent were in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, and the freshman SAT scores (one of several measures of academic quality that Cornell takes into account) is consistent with previous classes.

Many students in the class benefit from Cornell's generous financial aid programs. Cornell awarded half of all freshmen need-based grants, on average $30,640.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents make up 89 percent of the class and represent 49 states including Guam and Puerto Rico. About 28 percent of all students are from New York state, followed by about 21 percent from the Mid-Atlantic region.

International students represent 11 percent of the class and come from more than 45 countries, including Canada, Singapore, Korea, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Ecuador, Vietnam, Turkey, the United Kingdom and China.

Highlights of the Class of 2013 (statistics as of July 15) include:

For more information on previous Cornell classes, visit http://dpb.cornell.edu/F_Undergraduate_Admissions.htm.