BALTIMORE, MD (WEAA) — Morgan State University, Maryland’s largest Historically Black College or University, is seeing an increase in undergraduate, graduate school and housing applications for the 2021 Fall semester.
As of April, the university has received more than 14,600 undergraduate applications, an all-time high for the HBCU and a 58.5% increase over the total number received in 2019, before the pandemic.
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The university has also received more than 1,000 graduate school applications, an increase of 9.6% over the total received in 2019, and nearly 1,200 applications for housing, an increase of 54.6% over 2019’s total.
“We have faced challenges during the pandemic and have seen some of our natural growth stifled as a result, however, what these record numbers of applications are revealing is that educational attainment is still very important to a great number of people and that there is a tremendous appetite to receive that education at Morgan,” said David Wilson, president of Morgan. “What we’ve put in place here at the university, in terms of programs and opportunities, is unique and attractive to both traditional and nontraditional students. We look forward to capitalizing on this monumental interest and building for the future.”
Morgan administrators believe a number of factors are contributing to the increase in applications including: more students are applying to more schools than ever; a heightened national attention on diversity, equity and inclusion; the availability of unique and/or highly sought-after programs at Morgan; the competitiveness of Morgan students on the national stage.
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“Although we were already seeing incremental increases in applications annually and anticipated some additional level of growth due to national trends, what we are seeing in actuality was somewhat unexpected, but this is a good problem to have,” said Kara Turner, Ph.D., vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Success at Morgan. “More applications mean more opportunity to grow our enrollment. And although we do not expect the majority of these prospective students to enroll, as of today more than 1,500 new students have paid their enrollment deposit. Even though the May 1st National College Decision Day has passed, we are continuing to admit students and to welcome admitted students to pay their deposit and secure their spot at Morgan for the fall.”
In 2019, Morgan announced plans for the construction of a new apartment-style residence facility that is expected to be completed in 2024.
