A historic number of applicants vied for a spot in the University of Pittsburgh’s incoming first-year class, perhaps signaling increased demand in the Oakland campus as universities across the country watch their application numbers rise.
Over 58,200 people sent applications to the Oakland campus for fall 2023 admission. That’s the largest pool of applications that the Pittsburgh university has ever received, breaking the 2022 record of more than 53,000 applications.
Like universities across the country, Pitt seems to benefit from a post-COVID surge in applicants. Just two years ago, the university received only about 34,600 applications. In 2013, about 27,600 people applied to join the school’s first-year class; applications more than doubled a decade later.
It’s a trend that schools across the nation are reporting. In March, the Common Application, an undergraduate admissions application that can be submitted to over 1,000 colleges and universities, reported a 21% increase in applicants between 2019 and 2023. Application surges come as some schools retain steady enrollment numbers, while others see drops.
Outgoing Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher attributed Pitt’s application boost in part to the school’s admissions team and academic opportunities in an interview with the Post-Gazette.
“A lot of that [growth] reflects a lot of hard work from admissions and Pitt becoming recognized more as a national public university rather than just regional,” Mr. Gallagher said. “We’re seeing that growing reputation, that growing brand across the whole country.”
But Mr. Gallagher also acknowledged that other factors could play into the increase, including test-optional admissions and Pitt’s use of the Common App.
The Pittsburgh school introduced test-optional admissions in 2021, allowing students to choose whether to submit SAT and ACT scores with their applications. Pitt has extended the program until fall 2025.
And in 2019, Pitt began accepting the Common App, which allows students to submit their applications to multiple colleges in one fell swoop.
Pitt will welcome students to campus Aug. 28. The university has yet to determine its 2023-24 tuition rate.
The university did not disclose how many students it has admitted into its incoming first-year class. During the 2022-23 academic year, Pitt enrolled 4,399 freshmen at its Oakland campus. Enrollment at the campus has steadily increased by about 6% during Mr. Gallagher’s nine-year tenure.
During a June board of trustees meeting, Mr. Gallagher said Pitt’s incoming first-year class will be the “one of the most diverse and accomplished” classes in university history.
Per student deposit data, Pitt’s incoming freshmen hail from 46 states and 35 other countries. Over 53% of these students are Pennsylvania residents, with 16% of in-staters from Pennsylvania’s rural areas.
Nearly two-fifths of freshmen are minorities; over 15% are under-represented minorities.
And looking at classroom achievements, the average student’s high school GPA was 4.13 and the average submitted SAT score was 1363.
“Demand to attend this campus has never been higher,” Mr. Gallagher said at the board meeting. “Pitt is clearly drawing students nationally and globally.”
Though Pitt’s Oakland campus enjoys robust interest and growth, its regional campuses are struggling. Between 2013 and 2022, enrollment dropped 30% at Pitt’s campuses in Greensburg, Johnstown, Bradford and Titusville.
Downward enrollment trends have also occurred at Pennsylvania’s state schools, community colleges and Penn State’s commonwealth campuses. During his interview with the Post-Gazette, Mr. Gallagher said he believes higher education is at a crossroads, in which more expensive, prestigious schools remain in high demand, while more affordable, accessible schools see drops in their student populations.
“The question is, ‘What does this mean in the long term?’ And the honest answer is, we don't know,” Mr. Gallagher said. “My biggest fear is that those declines are happening predominantly in first-generation students and lower income students, and I don't think they're going somewhere else. I think they're forgoing a college education.”
First Published: July 15, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: July 15, 2023, 7:57 p.m.
