WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue University announced a smaller freshman class than previous years despite record application numbers.
Undergraduate applications for the fall of 2025 stood at 86,953, according to a news release Tuesday, which illustrated a jump compared with the fall 2024's application numbers of 78,526.
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Purdue said 8,914 new undergraduates began their first semesters on the West Lafayette campus in August, which is down from the previous year's 10,628 record enrollment. The decrease for 2025, the university said, was a decision made after the "surprising jump" in acceptance rate in summer 2024.
The in-state undergraduate admissions rate for 2025 stood at 71%, similar to the previous year's 74%, while the out-of-state admissions rate dropped to 39% compared to the previous year's 45%. The university said that the drop in admissions resulted in the most selective incoming class in recent history.
“Once again, a record number of students want to join us in West Lafayette and Indianapolis, and we couldn’t be more thrilled,” Purdue Provost Patrick Wolfe said in the release. “With new student housing coming online this summer and next, we’re prepared to welcome a larger and extremely academically well-prepared class to campus next year.”
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