Applications overall were up, including a large increase from international students.
Common App reports Applications are Up
According to their report on application trends from through February 2024, Common Application reported that over 1 million applicants sent more than 7 million applications via the Common App in the 2023-24 cycle. The Common Application is an online application portal used by more than 834 institutions, mostly for undergraduate admissions in the US.
Publics increased more than Privates
Applications to public universities grew more than at privates. Applications to public universities increased 11% over last year, while private universities were up 5%.
UCLA, a public university in Los Angeles, received 146,250 first-year applications, more applications than any other university in the US. According to UCLA, the number is up 2% from the year before. In March, UCLA admitted 15,673 first year students. In addition, UCLA saw the biggest growth in transfer applications, receiving more than 27,000, a 13% increase over last year.
The nine universities in the University of California (UC) public system reported receiving applications from over a quarter million students. Applications across the UC campuses were up 1.5% over 2023.
The public flagship University of Connecticut reported receiving a record number of applications. “More than 56,700 aspiring Huskies have already applied for spots in this fall’s entering class – the first time that UConn has passed 50,000 – and the number keeps growing as applications continue to come in for the four regional campuses. The tally also easily surpasses last year’s approximately 48,000 applicants, which in turn represented a jump over the previous year’s number of about 43,000.”
Slight decline at Harvard and Brown
Conversely, Harvard University announced it had received 54,008 applications, fewer than in the previous three years. Brown University reported receiving 48,898 applications, down from the previous year's 50,649. Admit rates remained low, 3.59% and 3.31% respectively for these highly selective universities.
More International Applicants
The Common App reported that international undergraduate applicants were up 14% from last year. Applicants increased the most from Ghana (96%), Mongolia (59%) and Uzbekistan (52%). Notably, the 14,266 applicants from Ghana nearly equaled the 15,313 international applicants from the entire Americas region. The African region saw a 38% increase in applicants overall.
Most International STEM and Engineering in 10 years
About a million international students were enrolled in higher education in the US in 2022 (including masters and doctorate students). As reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "The number of international science and engineering students in the United States has rebounded and now exceeds pre-pandemic levels". Citing the report, “The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2024,” from the National Science Board, in 2022, the US hosted 460,470 international science and engineering students, more than in the last ten years. The report also describes this trend reflected in the US workforce stating, "one in five science and engineering workers is foreign born, the share rises to 37 percent in jobs requiring a master’s degree and 43 percent requiring a doctorate."
2 Million by 2030
The Chronicle goes on to cite the Institute of International Education's Outlook 2030 Brief: The U.S. and International Education which predicts more students from Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal, and Nigeria, seeking higher educational opportunities in the US. The report emphasizes that there is room to grow at US universities. The Chronicle summarizes, "International students account for just 6 percent of all U.S. higher-education enrollments, and the number of domestic students is projected to decline over the next decade. By contrast, international students make up more than 20 percent of all college students in Australia and Britain and 30 percent in Canada, which has led to efforts in those countries to limit student visas." If growth stays on pace, international enrollments in the US could double by 2030.
According to Open Doors data published by IIE, China and India continue to send the most students to the US, together totalling about half of all international students in the country. Brazil is ninth, or nearly 8% percent of international students in the US, just over 16,000.