Figures and graphics were received 9/5/2024, prior to the final census of enrollment. According to college administration, there were 433 first-year students as of Sept. 27.
This year’s incoming class is one of the largest that Knox has ever seen. With 408 first year students, and 37 transfer students, we are currently looking at an incoming batch of 445 students. This cohort has the biggest class of international students and one of the largest groups of transfer students in Knox’s history.
33 states are represented by the first-year population, with 29% of domestic students being students of color. Furthermore, 25% of students this year are student-athletes. This was less than last year, as student athletes made up 39% of last year’s cohort.
International students make up 37% of the first year population. This is a great increase from last year’s percentage of 24%, and this year has the largest group of internationals in Knox’s history. The international students are from 30 different countries, with the largest number of students coming from Pakistan, Nepal, Japan, and India.
“One of the challenges of managing a larger international student body is making sure that we are mindful and aware of the increase of needs among international students, and that all students feel that they are being adequately supported here at Knox,” director of International Student Services Alex Pia said. “I would also like to state that I am excited about this increase in the number of international students on our campus.”
With so many groundbreaking figures, it’s hard not to wonder just what caused the sudden spike in student admissions.
“In the fall of 2024, we had over 58-percent more completed applications from first-year students than for fall of 2023 and 67-percent more applications from transfer students over the previous year,” Vice President of Communications Megan Scott said.
The increase in student population may be attributed to a change in how the school approaches international students, as previously, there were more restrictions on marketing strategies for international students compared to domestic students. Now, Scott says that international recruitment has undergone significant changes.
“During this last cycle we recruited international students using the same tactics as we employed for domestic students. Traditionally, recruiting practices for international students have followed a different process. By removing barriers, improving our marketing, scholarships, and releasing admissions decisions much earlier than in the past, the result was more international students engaging with us earlier in the cycle.”
However, while the first-year cohort is large, the school hasn’t had technical problems or significant issues with housing. This is due to the large incoming first-year cohort and smaller class sizes of previous years combining to essentially bring the student population average to pre-pandemic times.
“The campus has the capacity to accommodate about 1400, and we had between 1300 and 1400 students as recently as 2019. So while the campus may feel busier and fuller, we are still well within our capacity,” Scott said.
However, a common complaint from the first-year cohort who live in the quad area seems to be that the renovations were rushed and weren’t completed in time for their arrival. Some students have faced problems such as broken windows that have been glued shut, or the water quality in the bathroom being subpar.
“So the water was milky white when we first came in, and renovations are really slow. It’s still milky white sometimes,” said Dasha Awale from the Elder Suite.
Eleanor Lindenmayer • Nov 3, 2024 at 7:32 am
love how we keep returning to demographics year after year! really helps show how Knox is changing.