CITING STATISTICS showing that of 100 pupils who go to grade school, only 14 percent manage to finish college, President Miriam E. Pascua shared to the new crop of freshmen a three-pronged formula for success during the School Opening and Freshmen Orientation Program held June 15 at Teatro Ilocandia.

President Pascua said students must stay focused in their studies and remember that they are in the university to realize their dream professions and careers.

She admonished them \"not to fail the Filipino people\" who expect a lot from them. Bolstering MMSU’s bid to be an environment-friendly school, President Pascua bared plans to have every NSTP (National Service Training Program) students plant at least five trees.

Most importantly, President Pascua said, the students must always remember to seek guidance from the Almighty because success is possible only if they put God in the center of their lives.

Also during the program, university officials were introduced and a multimedia presentation on the university was shown.

Data gathered from the Registrar’s Office show the College of Business, Economics, and Accountancy recording the most number of freshmen at 577. The figure is followed by those from the College of Engineering with 516; CIT, 453; College of Agriculture and Forestry, 438; College of Health Sciences, 429; CTE, 370; and the College of Arts and Sciences with 225. The College of Aquatic Sciences and Applied Technology came in with the least number of freshmen enrollees at 44.

The industrial technology program listed the highest freshmen enrollment at 380 followed by the elementary education program with 210. Though only on its second year, the hospitality management program has 200 freshmen enrollees, only one head shy of the nursing program’s 201 first year students.

The newly-opened College of Law has so far posted an enrolment of 30 students, including a medical doctor.

On June 17, a separate orientation program was held for students of the College of Teacher Education and the College of Industrial Technology, both located in Laoag.