Drexel University announced today that 1,918 students enrolled in the first-year class for the 2025-2026 academic year, a significant drop from the 2,369 students who enrolled last year and the 2,850 the year before. The new figure represents a 19.03 percent year-over-year decline, surpassing the 15 percent drop between 2023 and 2024.
Despite the heavily reduced class size, part of the demographic makeup remains relatively the same. Thirty-two percent of incoming students identify as first-generation college students, aligning with recent years’ rates of 29.4 percent in 2024 and 32.0 percent in 2023.
One notable shift was in Drexel’s acceptance rate. Drexel admitted 69.9% of their 38,030 applicants, a large decrease from acceptance rates of 79.4% in 2024 and 77.5% in 2023. The yield rate of these students also lowered slightly, dropping to 7.2% from 8% in 2024 and 9.1% in 2023.
In a statement to the university, President Antonio Merlo shared that the decline was anticipated: “In light of shifting demographic trends and national challenges in international student enrollment, the University expected a smaller first-year class and proactively aligned its planning and budget to reflect that projection.”
Some early institutional decisions hinted at the diminution in class size. Two residence halls, Millennium and Caneris Halls, were closed for this academic year, along with the Handschumacher Dining Center — moves interpreted as signs of decreased demand for housing and dining plans.
The upcoming Academic Transformation is intended to strengthen Drexel’s competitiveness in an increasingly challenging higher-education outlook. Merlo’s reference to “challenges in international student enrollment” alludes to the chaotic handling of student visas by the Trump administration. Some estimates projected that international student enrollment across America would decline by up to 40% due to changes to the visa application process.
This issue was also pointed out by Provost Paul Jensen in a conversation with The Triangle. Last year, 10.3% of Drexel’s first-year class were U.S. nonresidents. This year, 7.3% of first-year students were U.S. nonresidents, a 105 student reduction from the previous year.
“There’s no question that the higher education world is becoming more and more competitive for students,” Jensen acknowledged. He emphasized that the Academic Transformation primarily aims to improve the student experience.
“For universities to be successful going forward, you’re going to have to do a better job of serving students. That’s where this transformation started: How can we do a better job of serving students?”
While the transformation is not labeled a cost-saving maneuver, the hope is that the changes to Drexel’s more unconventional attributes, such as the quarter system, will make it a more attractive destination for students in the future.
“In the end, how this [Transformation] might help the university financially and competitively is just providing a better experience for students… it could be, long-term, enormously important for Drexel,” said Jensen. “This is not in any way a cost-saving plan — it’s about a better product [and] better experience for students.”
In reality, the effect of the Academic Transformation, from the semester switch to the curricular overhaul, on future student enrollment is unclear. Students will undergo a dramatic shift in the middle of their Drexel tenure as they experience firsthand the transformation from the quarter system to the semester system, and current students have expressed apprehension.
The 1,198 newly enrolled freshmen, among the rest of the university, will face a major wave of changes in the 2027 academic year; how disruptive these shifts will be to the student experience remains to be seen.
Correction: Drexel University experienced a 19.03 percent drop in freshman enrollment, not 20 percent.