Total student enrollment increases at Wright State University

For the first time since 2015, the number of students at Wright State University has increased, with a total of 11,036 students enrolled at the start of Fall Semester.

For the first time since the fall of 2015, the total number of students at Wright State University has increased.

For the Fall Semester of 2023, enrollment at Wright State surpassed 11,000, with a total student population of 11,036, a 2.2% increase over last year’s headcount.

The number of first-time students who enrolled at Wright State at the start of the Fall Semester also increased.

Wright State welcomed 1,713 first-time students this semester, an 11.2% increase from the fall of 2022 and the highest number of first-time students since the fall of 2018. This is the second consecutive year that the number of first-time students at Wright State increased by more than 10%.

On the Dayton Campus, the number of enrolling first-time students increased by 30.5% compared to the start of the Fall 2021 Semester.

First-time students are considered those who enrolled directly from high school, those who had not enrolled in college previously following high school graduation, and adults who have not attended college.

“This is a great sign not just for Wright State but also for the economic development of the region, with 92% of the first-time cohort represented from the state of Ohio and, most importantly, the Dayton region,” said Wright State President Sue Edwards, Ph.D.

The first Presidential and Deans Scholar cohorts enrolled at Wright State this fall. Presidential and Deans Scholars are high-achieving students selected by President Sue Edwards, Ph.D., and by college deans, respectively, based on their academic accomplishments, an interview process, and team-building activities. Presidential Scholars receive full-tuition scholarships and Deans Scholars receive half-tuition scholarships.

Wright State’s Take Flight Program, a program for academically accomplished students with financial need, continues to be a success, with 205 students in the second cohort compared to 161 students in the program’s first year.

Launched in 2022, the Take Flight Program covers undergraduate tuition for Ohio students with a high school grade point average of 3.2 or higher and an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of 2,190 or less on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Wright State saw an overall increase in the number of Pell Grant-eligible students who enrolled as first-time students this fall, with 40.6% of the first-time cohort meeting federal Pell eligibility requirements.

“As a public institution, Wright State is committed to ensuring every student, regardless of socioeconomic background, has access to a high-quality, affordable education,” said Susan Schaurer, vice president for enrollment management.

The number of new graduate students, including both domestic and international students (but excluding medical students), increased by 7.4% to 842, compared to 784 in 2022.

Wright State’s Master of Public Administration Program saw an increase in enrollment thanks to a new initiative to offer scholarships to public sector workers.

“Our scholarships are intended to meet the needs of our public agencies and government offices and to be a good partner in ensuring the future success of the Dayton region,” Schaurer said.