This year’s freshman class will once again top the previous year’s as Biola’s largest ever, according to André Stephens, director of undergraduate admission.

Some 859 potential freshmen have submitted their deposits, though Stephens said that number will likely taper off slightly since he expects some to not follow through with registration. He said final numbers will not be definitively known until mid-September.

The class of 2012 has a similar ethnic makeup to the rest of Biola’s student body, but slightly lower G.P.A and S.A.T. score averages than last year’s freshman class, according to Stephens.

On one thing that stands out about this year’s freshmen, Stephens noted that they seem to be especially technologically “savvy.” He said one student managed to get into his or her Biola Student Information (B.S.I) account before the administration had intended, and then posted instructions on how to do it on Facebook, causing some havoc in the department.

“There’s a lot of energy. It’s really exciting,” Stephens said. “To be able to see them here is really special for us.”