Purdue admits ‘most selective’ freshman class ever
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Purdue University officials says the university’s incoming students are breaking multiple records for enrollment.
At a 50% admission rate — three percentage points lower than last year — officials say the class is the university’s most selective ever. More than 72,000 prospective students, a record high, applied for admittance to the university this fall.
“The Class of 2027 is the most selective drawn from the largest pool of undergraduate applicants since the Common App was used at Purdue,” President Mung Chiang said in a news release. “We also welcome master’s and doctorate students who are arriving to the largest graduate student enrollment on record. Excellence at scale is truly reflected in our students.”
The university’s West Lafayette campus reports a total 52,211 students this semester, which is another all-time high. Almost 48,000 of those students live on campus. A record 39,170 undergraduates are enrolled this fall from across all 50 states and 120 countries.
University officials say undergraduate applications increased 7% this year and 82% from 2013 when the Purdue first adopted the Common App — an online platform that allows students to provide common application materials to universities across the country.
Graduate student enrollment is up, too. The university reports it has enrolled its highest number of graduate students this fall with 12,136. That’s an increase of 42% over the last decade, Purdue officials say.
Though student population continues to break records and construction on new student housing is underway, officials say they intentionally admitted a smaller class of of beginning undergraduates — 9,285 students compared to 2021’s record 10,191.
“Our decade-long push to enhance scholarly excellence at Purdue while maintaining affordability and access has proved a winning strategy,” Provost Patrick Wolfe said. “I’m especially proud that our enrollment of students from underrepresented groups has reached its highest count and proportion — 6,215, or 12% of total enrollment — in at least a decade.”
Purdue has frozen its tuition at $9,992 for Indiana residents and $28,794 for out-of-state students for the last 12 years. That rate is expected to continue at least through next school year.