After receiving an all-time record number of applications, Georgia State University’s fall 2024 enrollment grew 3.8 percent, outpacing the national average college enrollment growth of 2.9 percent.
The Georgia State student body — across its downtown Atlanta Campus and five metro Atlanta Perimeter College campuses — is larger by more than 1,900 students this fall. Enrollment across the institution grew from 50,500 in fall 2023 to 52,400 this fall.
Georgia State received nearly 65,000 applications for admittance in the fall, and saw increases in its number of graduate students, transfer students and students enrolling in its associate degree-granting Perimeter College.
“These increases in enrollment are welcomed news and a testament to the tireless efforts of people like Dr. Allison Calhoun-Brown, our vice president for Student Success, her team’s leadership, and their partnership with our Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicolle Parsons-Pollard and our academic deans,” said Georgia State President M. Brian Blake. “The pandemic was tough on higher education, but at Georgia State the value proposition is high because every day we focus on ensuring our students succeed in college and beyond.”
“Nearly 45,000 of our students are Georgia residents and, historically, more than 80 percent of them stay in the state to make their homes and their careers,” Parsons-Pollard said. “We have Panthers in every region of the state. Our students become the nurses who care for our citizens, the teachers who educate our children, the tech workers who propel innovation and the entrepreneurs who help our economy flourish.”
University System of Georgia (USG) enrollment climbed this fall to an all-time record of 364,725 students. The 5.9 percent increase over enrollment in fall 2023 is the second consecutive year of growth for the system and outpaces the 2.9 percent increase observed in the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s September Stay Informed report.
“We saw a very nice increase in one year for an institution of our size,” Calhoun-Brown said. “I think some of the best news is at Perimeter College which, during the pandemic, experienced decreases in enrollment of more than 17 percent.”
Indeed, reflecting a national trend at two-year colleges, Perimeter enrollment fell from around 18,500 students in 2019 to 17,300 in 2020 and further to around 15,400 in 2021, where it remained steady for three years.
But Perimeter enrollment this fall has risen to 17,400 students — a number that includes the second-largest enrollment of incoming first-year students in its history, nearly 3,200. Perimeter also saw a 50-percent increase this fall in dual-enrollment students, high school juniors and seniors getting a jump on their academic careers by taking college courses.
“We are encouraged by this fall’s enrollment growth at Perimeter,” said Dean Barbara J. Johnson. “The increase speaks to our reputation as an access-mission college that draws on Georgia State’s nationally recognized commitment to student success and expanding academic and career opportunities for the students enrolled at Perimeter.”
Georgia State also welcomed 1,300 new transfer students this fall, a 9 percent increase over last year and the largest transfer enrollment since the start of the pandemic. Perimeter College has seen a 33 percent increase — to 1,116 transfer students — this fall.
Calhoun-Brown said Georgia State has recently implemented a new optical character recognition program to review transcripts from other institutions, increasing efficiency in the transfer process.
Georgia State’s Graduate School has also seen impressive growth over the past year, increasing from 7,385 students in fall 2023 to 7,528 this fall.
“Georgia State’s growth in graduate enrollments, including over 2,450 new graduate students this fall, reflects our commitment to offering high-quality programs that meet the evolving needs of today’s students and workforce,” said Lisa Armistead, dean of The Graduate School. “Our dedicated faculty and targeted recruitment efforts are helping more students discover the unique opportunities for advanced study and real-world impact that Georgia State provides.”
The Graduate Enrollment Management Plan has been instrumental in driving this growth, emphasizing streamlined admissions processes and targeted outreach through robust recruitment and digital campaigns. Additionally, initiatives like professional development programing, expanded graduate mentoring resources and events such as the annual Conference for Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity have contributed to an inclusive, supportive learning environment that helps students achieve their professional goals and make meaningful contributions to their fields.
Georgia State’s leadership also undertook efforts over the past several years to highlight the value of a college education, the myriad high quality academic options offered at Georgia State and its unsurpassed connections to opportunities throughout Atlanta.
“Enrollment is an all-hands-on-deck effort,” Calhoun-Brown said. “It’s a collaborative endeavor to increase enrollment and we appreciate all of the university and college engagement to yield these kinds of results.”