More than 1,100 first-year students and 700 transfer students will join the SUNY New Paltz community this fall, as the university prepares to welcome a diverse and academically strong incoming class. The newest Hawks — including an additional 350 new graduate program enrollees — will bring the overall campus population to more than 7,000 students for the 2023-24 academic year.
“Our community is eager to begin supporting and collaborating with this new class of talented, diverse and academically qualified students,” said Stella Turk, interim vice president for enrollment management. “This is an exciting time to be at SUNY New Paltz. Our new students bring incredible energy and a rich array of experiences, and we cannot wait to see what they will accomplish during their time here.”
The incoming class is academically strong, with new high school students bringing an average GPA of 92 and transfers coming in with an average college GPA of 3.2.
They also represent diverse backgrounds and experiences. According to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classifications, about 56% of incoming first-year and transfer students at New Paltz self-identify as white, and 36% self-identify as non-white (Hispanic of any race, black or African American, Asian, native Hawaiian or other Pacific, two or more races or international), with an additional 8% for whom race/ethnicity is unknown.
Another trend with this year’s incoming class is an increase in students coming to New Paltz from out of state. The number of first-year students from outside New York has nearly doubled since last year, from 31 deposits in 2022 to 61 deposits in 2023, with the majority enrolling from New Jersey. This increase follows a SUNY-wide initiative to match public in-state tuition rates for students from eight states, to help attract more students nationwide to the State University of New York system.
New first-year students and their families will begin settling into their on-campus homes on move-in day, Thursday, August 24. Returning students will continue to arrive through the weekend before classes begin on Monday, August 28.
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