Enrollments

Of all American students studying abroad in all areas of the globe during the 2023-24 academic year, about 6.1 percent, were African Americans. Twenty years ago in the 2003-04 academic year, African Americans were 3.4 percent of all American students who studied abroad.

In the 2024-25 academic year sub-Saharan nations sent more than 65,000 students to study at U.S. colleges and universities, an increase of more than 15 percent from the previous year. But early data shows that the rise in foreign enrollments has halted due to travel bans and visa restrictions during the first year of the Trump administration.

Many Ivy League institutions, major research universities, and highly-selective liberal arts colleges across the United States have experienced sharp declines in Black first-year student enrollments since the Supreme Court's 2023 decision to end affirmative action.

According to a new study from scholars at the University of Illinois, highly-visible public universities in states that have adopted performance-based funding policies have experienced declines in their Black undergraduate enrollment.

Between 2011-2012 and 2021-2022, federal funding for the Pell Grant program decreased by some $10 billion. Over the same time period, there was a decrease of more than 487,000 Black students at U.S. colleges and universities, with the steepest declines occurring in southern states.

In addition to a 38 percent increase in total student enrollment, historically Black Cheyney University more than doubled its class of first-year students compared to last fall's enrollment and brought its student retention rate to its highest in three decades.

Under Assembly Bill 7, California-based colleges and universities could provide admissions preferences to applicants of any racial background who can prove they are descended from someone who was enslaved in the United States prior to 1900. The bill is currently awaiting final approval from Governor Gavin Newsom.

Enrollments are down at many colleges and universities across the United States. But many historically Black colleges and universities have reported significant increases and some have achieved a record number of enrolled students.

For students in the high school graduating class of 2024, 55.0 percent of graduates of schools with greater shares of nonwhite students immediately enrolled in college in the fall 2024 semester, compared to 62.7 percent of their peers at low-minority schools.

Compared to the mean of medical school matriculants from 2019 to 2023, there was a significant decline in the share of matriculants from racial backgrounds underrepresented in medicine compared to their White and Asian peers. Notably, declines were most pronounced at institutions located in states without prior state-level affirmative action bans.

In 2023, the Supreme Court banned the consideration of race in the college admissions process. An exception was made for the nation's military academies, but that was before the election of Donald Trump as president. Now the academies have abandoned their affirmative action programs.

Black first-year student applications submitted via Common App grew by 12 percent over the past year. During the 2024-2025 season, Black students represented 14.8 percent of the total applicant pool - a 0.8 percentage point increase from 2023-2024.

Colleges and universities that have eliminated test score requirements for admissions have generally increased their overall student diversity. However, those that have experienced institutional hardships and those that continue to prioritize test scores despite their optional policy have not seen a significant increase in their enrollment of students from underrepresented racial backgrounds.

For the fall 2025 semester, 210 freshman students are set to begin their undergraduate education at Simmons College. This will be largest freshman class in the HBCU's history.

Ahead of the fall 2025 semester, the University of California System has released preliminary data on in-state first-year students admitted to its nine undergraduate campuses. Overall, Black students represent 5.9 percent of all in-state admitted students, showing the greatest representation at the Los Angeles campus and the smallest representation at the Santa Barbara campus.

In an analysis of admissions data at 18 universities, research from the Urban Institute has found slight increases in Black students' applications and enrollment, while admittance rates have remained unchanged. However, at highly selective institutions, Black students' enrollment is decreasing, despite recent increases in their share of applications.

Across all major racial groups, Black students experienced the largest growth in both undergraduate and graduate enrollment, increasing by 10.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, since spring 2024. Additionally, Black student enrollment in higher education has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Roughly 52 percent of Black students applying to college through Common App express interest in majoring in STEMM disciplines. However, only 28 percent of these students go on to graduate with a STEMM degree within six years.

“The ongoing decline in Black male enrollment at HBCUs is a clarion call for action, and we will not stand idly by," said David Wilson, president of Morgan State University. "This task force will engage in rigorous research... to ensure that more Black men not only enroll at Morgan but thrive and complete their degrees."

In fall 2024, Winston-Salem State University enrolled 244 new graduate students, an increase of 31.2 percent from the prior year. The HBCU now enrolls nearly 600 graduate students.