Stony Brook University Welcomed the Largest Incoming Class of First Year Students in its 67 year History

First-Year Student Enrollment Increased by 13% while Stony Brook Maintained a Proven Commitment to Accessibility and Diversity

STONY BROOK, NY-September 24, 2024-Stony Brook University, one of New York State's flagship universities, welcomed the largest incoming class of first-year students in its 67-year history, a testament to its rise in reputation as a world-class academic institution where students from all backgrounds are welcomed and supported throughout their college journey. Stony Brook continues to place a top priority on year-over-year enhancements to the student experience inside and outside the classroom through faculty engagement, professional advising, mental health and other support services.

Increased Enrollment

Stony Brook's first-year undergraduate student enrollment increased by 13%. New first-year students attending Stony Brook for the 2024 fall term totaled 4,042 (vs. 3,569 in fall 2023) and 1,334 new transfer students in fall 2024(vs. 1,286 in fall 2023). Transfers increased 4% over the prior fall. Stony Brook received the most undergraduate applications of any SUNY school.

Stony Brook continues to have one of the highest percentages of Pell-eligible students among public flagships. The university also leads the SUNY system in the highest number of Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) applications and largest EOP class in its history. The state-funded EOP programsupports promising New York students who face financial and academic barriers so they can attend and graduate from a SUNY college.

While prominent research institutions that include MIT and Harvard have experienced drops in enrollment for their Black and Latinx students this fall, enrollment of first-time students at Stony Brook who identified as Black increased from 364 (10.2% of the incoming class) in fall 2023 to 433 (10.7% of the incoming class) in fall 2024. Those who identified as Latinx increased from 496 (13.9% of the incoming class) in fall 2023 to 633 (15.7% of the incoming class) in fall 2024. This represents an increase of over 200 students who identify as Black or Latinx over the prior year.

"This historic enrollment of first-year students is a testament to Stony Brook University's steadfast commitment to providing an exceptional educational experience and its rise in reputation as one of the nation's most prominent public flagship research universities," said Interim President Richard L. McCormick. "Stony Brook today exemplifies dramatically all the most important developments in modern American higher education - a growing and highly diverse student body, an expanding research enterprise, and research achievements that are contributing mightily to the economy and society."

Rankings

Stony Brook has risen remarkably in U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2025rankings in recent years, moving from #93 in the 2022 rankings to #58 in the 2024 rankings. In the 2025 rankings released today, the university has maintained its gains, coming in at #58 again and for the third year in a row ranked as the #1 public university in New York. Notably, Stony Brook is the only New York school among the Top 30 public universities, coming in at #26 for the second year in a row.

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About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University is New York's flagship university and No. 1 public university. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With over 26,000 students, more than 3,000 faculty members, more than 220,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world's biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #58 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges 2025 listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook's membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America. The university's distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy - one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. In 2023, Stony Brook was named the anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $8.93 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/and X@stonybrooku.

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