As the school year commences, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is celebrating an impressive milestone: enrolling 8,325 new freshmen into their Class of 2027, marking the institution's largest freshman class in history. This remarkable influx of students has driven undergraduate enrollment to an all-time high, with 35,467 total undergraduates. Similarly, the University of Illinois Chicago is embracing their own record-breaking feats with their largest freshman class yet.
This substantial growth in enrollment comes despite the fact that the cost of higher education is higher in Illinois compared to neighboring states. The university administration is committed to ensuring that families and students do not view the price of education as a deterrent. John Coleman, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, states that the administration is "working really hard at this; it's a priority. We never want the price or cost to be a factor. We want students and families to choose the university that makes the most sense for them.", according to Fox 32 Chicago.
As ABC7 Chicago revealed, the incoming freshman class at UIUC comprises 74% Illinois residents, which amounts to 6,100 students. In addition, nearly 1,100 students come from other states, and approximately the same number hail from foreign countries. UIUC hopes to attract more students from other underrepresented areas through increasing engagement efforts in Illinois counties without freshman enrollees this year.
While China remains the primary source of foreign students at UIUC, accounting for 57% of their international population, the number of Chinese students has experienced a decline since 2017, linked to the global attention surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a Chinese scholar, notes ABC7 Chicago. Reflecting this decline, Coleman suggests that the percentage of Chinese students enrolled at UIUC has likely reached its peak, as the university actively pursues recruitment from other countries including India, which is surpassing South Korea as the second-most common home for international students at UIUC.
