Kean University Welcomes the Largest Freshman Class in History

By Victoria Cifelli | Published September 30, 2022

Kean University has accepted and enrolled over 3000 freshman students this Fall making the class of 2026 the largest class in history.  

“Kean University had an almost 8.5 percent increase in accepted freshman students and a 28.5 percent increase in the number of accepted students placing deposits to guarantee their place in the Class of 2026, compared to last year. This demonstrates that Kean is growing as a first-choice university for incoming students,” Margaret McCorry, Associate Vice President of University Relations said. 

The 2018 freshman class was the biggest freshman enrollment at Kean U.S.A  with 1,815 students registered for classes, according to university officials. The current Fall semester’s enrollment has seen 1976 new students at the campuses in the United States. 

“At first I chose Kean University to stay close to my high school sweetheart, sadly it ended before summer ended; also the architecture program here is one of a kind. Kean so far is amazing. It’s exactly what I dreamed college would be since eighth grade,” Kaleb Jackson, a freshman architecture major said. 

Students this year will have a full first year on campus, compared to previous years that got cut short by the pandemic. In the spring 2022 semester, the university went remote for the first two weeks due to the pandemic possibly spiking as a result of winter break travels. 

“Kean offered additional course sections of many freshmen classes but did not systematically increase the size of any of those courses,” McCorry said. 

With the increase in freshman students, the university must accommodate the increase of population on campus. 

“Freshman students are housed in Cougar Hall and Freshman Hall. Residential housing for freshmen is more than 90% of capacity this year,” McCorry said. “Each year, at the start of the Fall semester, we remind students, faculty, and staff that additional parking is available on East Campus. We followed the same practice this year.”

As Kean students continue to come on to campus, dorm halls are being filled and parking is still being used around campus. 

“Kean University takes care of students through academic and financial aid support services that help them realize their dream of earning a college degree,” Marsha McCarthy, the vice president for enrollment services said. “Kean seeks to maximize students’ return on that investment by providing an exceptional college experience that is affordable, accessible, and takes students to where they want to be.” 

Kean has been known as one of the cheapest public universities in the state of New Jersey, and is continuing this promise into the 2022-2023 school year. 

“Kean was super close to home and cheaper, and I really liked the campus,” Krystel Martinez, an exercise science freshman said. “I actually love being on campus, it’s so relaxing and it’s so fun. The teachers are super chill and everyone around is so much fun.”
The class of 2026 is in for a full year at Kean University, with no mention of switching back to temporary remote learning. 

“My experience so far at Kean is great. I met many more friends than I thought I would in my first month here,” Adrian Cedeno, a freshman graphic design major said. 

Kean freshmen will continue to get the same world-class education that has been given at the university in previous years.  

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