Fall Enrollment Falls
It is no secret that St. Lawrence University enrollment has been declining over the past few years. According to Scott Born, who worked extensively in admissions, there has been a decrease in enrollment across upper-level education, especially at private institutions. However, according to data obtained by The Hill News this trend is more heavily affecting St. Lawrence University.
Enrollment at SLU has dropped 11.14 percent since the 2017-18 academic year. While this is partially explained by the downward trend in enrollment, when compared to other similarly sized colleges SLU is falling behind. Out of 26 similar colleges and universities SLU has the 5th worst decline in enrollment.
Further 13 of the 26 colleges and universities had positive increases in enrollment over the same period.
This drop in enrollment can be explained by multiple factors including the drop in applications. From the 2017-18 to the 2023-24 academic year SLU has seen a 8.51 percent decrease in applications. This is the largest decrease among the 26 comparable colleges and universities.
Another factor contributing to the decline in enrollment is the 30.99 percent drop in yield. The yield is the number of students who attend SLU over the number of students offered a spot. SLU’s current yield is 16.99 percent, which is the lowest out of the 26 colleges providing data.
While there are other colleges who have seen similar declines in enrollment, applications and yield, SLU is consistently at the bottom of the list. The decline in applications and enrollment have resulted in the rise of one other key factor, acceptance rate. SLU’s acceptance rate rose by 20.01 percent over the same period and is currently 58 percent. This increase in acceptance rate is 12 percentage points higher than the next closest comparable college or university.