Stony Brook University has welcomed the largest incoming class of first-year students in its 67-year history. The university, one of New York State’s flagship institutions, saw a 13% increase in first-year undergraduate enrollment for the fall 2024 term. This rise brought the total number of new first-year students to 4,042, up from 3,569 in fall 2023. Additionally, there were 1,334 new transfer students in fall 2024, marking a 4% increase over the previous year.
Stony Brook continues to attract a diverse student body and maintains one of the highest percentages of Pell-eligible students among public flagships. The university also leads the SUNY system in Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) applications and boasts the largest EOP class in its history. The state-funded EOP program supports promising New York students who face financial and academic barriers.
While other prominent research institutions like MIT and Harvard have seen drops in enrollment for Black and Latinx students this fall, Stony Brook experienced an increase. Enrollment of first-time Black students rose from 364 (10.2% of the incoming class) in fall 2023 to 433 (10.7%) in fall 2024. Similarly, Latinx student enrollment increased from 496 (13.9%) to 633 (15.7%) over the same period.
“This historic enrollment of first-year students is a testament to Stony Brook University’s steadfast commitment to providing an exceptional educational experience and its rise in reputation as one of the nation’s most prominent public flagship research universities,” said Interim President Richard L. McCormick. “Stony Brook today exemplifies dramatically all the most important developments in modern American higher education — a growing and highly diverse student body, an expanding research enterprise, and research achievements that are contributing mightily to the economy and society.”
In recent years, Stony Brook has made significant strides in national rankings. According to U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, it moved from #93 in 2022 to #58 in both the 2024 and newly released 2025 rankings. For three consecutive years, it has been ranked as the #1 public university in New York and is currently listed at #26 among Top Public Universities nationwide.
Stony Brook University is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and serves over 26,000 students with more than 3,000 faculty members. It is recognized for its research-intensive environment and innovation across various fields.
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