Who is enrolling at OU and OSU? A look at the record-breaking freshmen classes
Over the last decade, the freshman class at the University of Oklahoma has become more female, more Hispanic and more Texan. Half of the current freshman class in Norman came from other states or countries, and 35% of freshmen this fall are Texans.
OU’s freshman class this fall is the biggest in school history, numbering 5,198. That is up 11% from last year and 20% from the fall of 2014.
At Oklahoma State University, the freshman class of 4,670 is only slightly larger than last year’s, but it is also a record and is 13% larger than the class in the fall of 2014. The mix of residents to non-residents has been static in Stillwater, with nearly two-thirds of the freshman class coming from Oklahoma this year, the same as a decade ago.
OU and OSU may be wrapping up their Bedlam athletic contests — with the final football game for the foreseeable future this weekend — but the in-state rivalry was never limited to sports. An OSU spokeswoman last week referred to the school as “the go-to university for Oklahoma residents,” noting that it has had an edge over OU for years in the numer of students enrolled in "Oklahoma’s Promise," a state scholarship program.
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Officials in the Admission and Recruitment Office at OU said last week the university “is increasing its popularity both among Oklahomans and those from outside the state.” The impending move to the Southeastern Conference, the officials said, “creates excitement about the future of the university.”
In Norman and Stillwater, Hispanic American students have become a much larger part of the student body. They made up 15% of the freshman class at OU this year, up from 8% in the fall of 2014. At OSU, Hispanic American students comprise 11% of the current freshman class, up from 7% in 2014.
“The percentage of freshmen in all categories mirror demographics locally and nationally,” OU admissions officials said last week, in response to questions. “Students going to college are increasingly female or Hispanic.”
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of Latinos enrolled at four-year institutions in the United States rose by 287% between 2000 and 2020. By comparison, overall student enrollment at four-year institutions in the U.S. grew by 50% during that time, Pew reported last year.
More than a quarter of OU’s freshmen — 1,379 — are first-generation students; the number is up 16% just from last fall.
A growing number of Texans are enrolling in OU and OSU
Though OU and OSU have long drawn freshmen from neighboring Texas, the percentages of Texas residents have grown steadily at both.
At OU this fall, Texans make up three-quarters of the students from other states and comprise more than one-third of the entire freshman class. In the fall of 2014, about one-quarter of the freshman class came from Texas.
“Texas is growing tremendously in population, and proximity to the state makes it a natural choice for students,” the OU Office of Admissions and Recruitment said.
OSU’s freshman class this fall had 1,063 Texans, up from 875 in 2014 and about 23% of the new students.
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The relationship is not reciprocal with Texas’ flagship public university. At the University of Texas at Austin, only 10% of the student body is from states other than Texas, in accordance with state law. According to figures from the university, only 75 students from Oklahoma were enrolled there in the fall of 2020, out of about 5,600 from states other than Texas.
The appeal of OU and OSU to Texas students may lie to some extent in how difficult it can be to get into the university at Austin. According to U.S. News and World Report, the acceptance rate at Texas’ flagship university is 31%. That’s the overall rate; it would be much lower for certain majors. The university said in September that a record 66,109 people applied for the fall semester; UT eventually enrolled 9,385 of them.
OU received 22,337 applications for the class of 2027, which was also a record, and accepted 17,000, a rate of 76.5%. Ultimately, 5,198 new students enrolled, about 30% of those accepted. OSU also has been experiencing record applications, a spokesperson said.
For in-state students, OU and OSU draw heavily from the state’s two biggest counties — Oklahoma and Tulsa — and from their home counties.
OU, which has freshmen from 69 of the state's 77 counties this fall, enrolled 711 from Oklahoma County, 584 from Cleveland County, where Norman is located, and 413 from Tulsa County. Canadian County provided 134 freshmen at OU, and Comanche County sent 86.
OSU reported freshmen from all 77 counties this fall, including 590 from Tulsa County, 584 from Oklahoma County and 207 from Payne County, which is home to Stillwater. Canadian County provided 138 students to OSU, and 108 matriculated from Cleveland County.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU, OSU see record-breaking freshmen classes: See enrollment numbers
