Iowa State welcomed its largest classes to campus this year.

Projections indicate that the overall enrollment will be more than 28,000 for the first time in the school’s history, breaking the record set last year, at 27,954, said Marc Harding, assistant vice president of admissions.

“The enrollment is a real testament that students believe in Iowa State as an excellent college selection,” Harding said. “At the core of this is one incredible product that is Iowa State. Students wouldn’t be here if they didn’t think it was worthwhile.”

Harding attributes the record enrollment to a number of factors: dining services, residence life, a beautiful campus, great enrollment services staff, a variety of student activities and organizations, volunteers who share their experiences with potential students and colleges that are engaged in the process of recruiting students.

“There are many factors to Iowa State’s success,” Harding said. “It takes an entire community to bring in a class.”

Recruiting efforts include visiting high schools and community colleges, use of social media, phone calls and e-mails and are all only part of the work that’s done to get students choose Iowa State.

“We’re constantly changing our strategies and evaluating our recruitment efforts to make sure they meet the university’s goals,” Harding said.

The official numbers will be run this weekend, but won’t be released to the general public until noon Wednesday, after they’re sent Tuesday to the Iowa Board of Regents, said Kathleen Jones, assistant vice president of records and registration.

Although official numbers don’t exist, Jones said it seems the record enrollment will cover undergraduate, graduate and professional enrollment at Iowa State.