The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced it has a record-breaking total campus enrollment with 50,662 students in a Monday news release.
It’s the first time enrollment has broken 50,000 students in school history, with prospective applicant numbers also reaching an all-time high of 67,979.
“From the record number of applicants to our national rankings, UW-Madison continues to be highly respected and much in demand,” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said in the news release. “I am also pleased that our incoming class of new freshmen and transfer students expands on UW-Madison’s strong commitment to Wisconsin families and to the state.”
Given the record-breaking number of applicants, UW-Madison Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Derek Kindle said in a statement to The Daily Cardinal that the incoming class “is likely the most competitive class of new students in our history.”
The enrollment increase at UW-Madison comes as UW System campuses grapple with enrollment concerns and increasingly tight budgets resulting in part from a $32 million budget cut the Republican-led state budget-writing committee approved in June.
UW-Madison is one of three UW System schools not currently running a deficit.
UW-Madison has continued to invest in Wisconsin resident students after committing in 2015 to meet a goal of enrolling at least 3,600 Wisconsin residents each year. The new freshman class includes the second-highest number of Wisconsin residents at 3,813.
Nearly one in four Wisconsin resident students will be covered by one of UW-Madison’s two primary tuition assistance programs: Bucky’s Tuition Promise and the newly instated Bucky’s Pell Pathway.
“These are exceptional students who have chosen to continue their education in their home state, increasing the likelihood they will stay here and contribute their skills and leadership to our workforce and our communities,” Provost Charles Isbell said in the statement.
Despite an increase in enrolled Wisconsin residents, UW-Madison chose to reduce the size of its incoming freshman class this year as housing shortages raise rent costs throughout the city.
At the fall 2023 convocation, Chancellor Mnookin told students that the decrease was “done on purpose.”
“[It’s] to make sure you have access to all of the wonderful opportunities that make this place so special,” she said.
The number of incoming freshmen at UW-Madison hit a record high of 8,628 last year.
Ella Hanley is the associate news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written breaking, city, state and campus news. Follow her on Twitter at @ellamhanley.
