Freshman Class the Largest in 15 years

As summer orientation season draws to a close, Rhode Island College is preparing to welcome the biggest influx of students in recent memory.

The college anticipates the arrival of over 1,000 freshmen in the fall and over 2,000 total new students. Much credit for the enrollment boost is being given to the Hope Scholarship, which provides last-dollar tuition support to eligible Rhode Island-based students in their junior and senior years.

“The Hope Scholarship has been a game-changer for Rhode Island College and, more importantly, the students who benefit from it,” says RIC President Jack Warner. “The prospect of a high-quality bachelor’s degree for $25,000 or less is a major draw for in-state students and their families, an undeniable value proposition that makes us highly competitive in a landscape of rapidly increasing college costs.” 

RIC Vice President for Student Success Cindy Kozil says the college is on the move and people see and feel it.

“The quality of our academic programs and support for students at our price point is a true return on investment,” she says. “We are the lowest-priced, public, four-year institution in New England, and we also have a strong tradition of educating nurses, teachers and social workers in the state.”

Most of the new freshmen are from Rhode Island, but hail from as many as 20 other states, including one from Southern California. About 95 percent of them will be attending full-time, a five-percent increase from last year when 90 percent of new students enrolled full time. More incoming freshmen are also opting to live on campus: 24 percent as compared to 20 percent last year.

Additionally, the college received 393 more applications from Rhode Island students this year than last year, a 9.6 percent increase.

Freshmen Brandon Hargreaves, Katifah Leonty and Jaedin Calderon are among those in that number. During a recent new student orientation session, they said they’re looking forward to becoming RIC students. 

“The last two years free was very appealing to me,” says Hargreaves, referring to the Hope Scholarship. “This helps me get a good degree without spending an arm and a leg on education. I consider this the most financially reasonable tuition for the best education I can get.”

Hargreaves, 18, of Coventry whose brother Nathan is a RIC sophomore, plans to major in criminal justice and aspires to become an attorney. 

Calderon says he was attracted to RIC’s affordability and sports management program. In 2023 RIC became the first college in the state to offer sports management.

“My goal is to become an athletic director,” he says. A native of Coventry, the 18-year-old played football, baseball and basketball in middle school. 

Leonty, 17, is striving to become an ultrasound technician one day.

“During orientation, I was impressed by how everybody seemed so welcoming,” she says.

That kind of response is music to the ears of orientation leaders like Tamia Smith and Sarina Yang. At Smith’s freshman orientation a few years ago, Yang was assigned to be her leader and that inspired Smith to become a leader as well.

“I think the biggest goal is to bring positive energy,” Smith says. “You’re the light at the end of the tunnel for students coming into college. It can be a scary transition for students, but it’s our job to make them feel comfortable entering the RIC community.”

And she will have her work cut out for her this year, as there are so many more students to welcome into the community.