The University of South Florida begins its fall semester today with 48,000 students returning to campus.

  • USF's Tampa campus opened 60 years ago in 1956
  • Total enrollment: 48,000
  • Students enjoying Week of Welcome events aimed at helping new students adjust and meet other students

The freshmen class is starting actual classes today but has been prepping for this day for months. About 58 percent of the incoming freshman class are Bright Futures Scholarships recipients with an average grade point average of 4.04. 

College students across the country have been facing the same challenges for the past few years: Lots of graduates with big student loans and a very small job pool.

USF officials say the school has become creative in helping students navigate the college to working-world process with a series of programs connecting students to employers.

But that is in the distant future for students going through the annual Week of Welcome on campus.

"I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of new people," said incoming student Cameron Lowery. "And just experiencing college and getting away from your parents and experiencing college and getting out on my own."
 
According to school officials, there are slightly more students on USF's Tampa campus this fall. Of those students, about 20 percent live on campus.

"I guess the classes I'm taking," said Nicole Zamorano, when asked about what she was looking forward to the most about college. "They're more interesting to me than my high school classes. They're more of the things I want to learn about, so learning new things."