Enrollment numbers are peaking while Montclair State continues to upgrade its campus.
Photo courtesy of Adam Moss (Flickr)
The tenth day of the semester marked the official census for Montclair State. The numbers this year totaled to almost 21,000 students enrolled at the university.
With new developments and construction having taken over Montclair State over the past few years, including the new Feliciano School of Business, the Nursing School, expansions of sports fields with new bleachers and the new School of Communication and Media coming in the spring, it seems people have taken more interest in Montclair State than previous years. Enrollment for graduate students is 4,177, and enrollment for undergraduate students is 16,810, with an increase of 522 students since last fall.
According to Erika Bleiberg, director of media relations, Montclair State experienced a 16 percent increase in out-of-state students. She added, “Students have come from every county in New Jersey, from 27 states, and from many foreign countries.”
The incoming class of 2020 is one of the largest in the university’s history. Bleiberg explained, “The university’s continued positive enrollment trend is the result of both new and expanded admissions initiatives as well as an increase in student retention.”
Bleigberg also mentioned that the number of freshman applications this year reached over 12,000 which made “it one of the most selective admissions cycle in recent memory- and one of the most geographically diverse.”
Senior communication and media arts major, Angela Romano is unhappy with the rising number of students, “I’d like to know if people are just getting smarter or Montclair is becoming a free for all and lowering their standards.” She continued, “There are problems with parking and housing. They can’t just blame it on being a ‘commuter school.’”
Other students welcome the numbers with a little apprehension. Julia Siegel said, “I think that it’s great that the school can accommodate that many students. It shows that the school’s reputation must be growing stronger if there are that many students interested and accepted to the university. It’s a positive thing, but the school has to be able to hold that capacity of students. We still need more parking, probably need more dorms, and more classrooms if the size of the student body keeps increasing.”
