Throughout the 2020-2021 school year, Indiana University and its campus was a ghost town. No students. No professors. No staff. Nothing. COVID-19 forced everyone to leave campus and attempt to complete the school year from their homes, the local coffee shop, their local library…anywhere but school.
This year is different.
Students are back and the class of 2025 set a record for being the largest freshman class Indiana University has ever seen.
According to the Indiana University school website, the record number comes in at 9,482 freshman students admitted for the fall of 2021 semester. That is a twenty percent increase from last years admitted freshman applications and that number shatters the 2018 record of 8,097 freshman.
Director of media relations and IU spokesperson Chuck Carney on the record-breaking class of 2025.
Not only is this the largest freshman class in the history of the program, but it is also representing a record number for students of color.
“As we return to in-person learning on our campuses across the state, IU is pleased to welcome more than 91,000 students and a record number of students of color,” IU President Pamala Whitten said. “This year’s enrollment reflects IU’s continued success in keep an IU education affordable, accessible, and responsive to the needs of students from all backgrounds.”
According to The Herald Times IU received over 46,000 freshman applications – the most the school has ever received and setting yet another record.
Many accredit these record numbers to families across the country wanting to return to a sense of normalcy and the kind of lives we lived prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Frankly, it is a reaction based on where we are amidst the pandemic,” Director of Media Relations and Indiana University spokesperson Chuck Carney said. “We are not out of it, but we are through some of it and now … we are in something more normal than what we had before.”
There are challenges that come with bringing this large of a class to campus at one time. Longer waitlists for classes, more crowded resident halls, and longer lines at dining halls are just a few problems that have been collected thus far in the school year.
Over the summer IU constructed Walnut Grove, a new resident hall in preparation for the size of the incoming class. Carney states that the new building has done a great job at preventing a larger issue with housing this large of a class.
Carney explaining the problems that have occurred while hosting such a large class. along with what IU has done to fix those issues.
Students that are a part of the class of 2025 understand that they are a part of history but say that is has not changed their perspective of being an Indiana Hoosier.
“It was definitely concerning at first, like, before I came here that there would be an issue and be too many people,” freshman Ryan Solferino said. “But once I got here…it feels small, and it feels like you know everybody.”
Solferino also mentioned that he has not had any issues outside of waiting lines at dining halls but explained that it is just something that comes with going to a large university like IU.
IU freshman Ryan Solferino explains some of the positives and negatives that have come with being a part in the record-breaking class.
If you or a relative are looking to potentially be a part of Indiana Universities next record-breaking class, visit apply.iu.edu to learn how to apply and become an Indiana Hoosier.
