South County Times

Washington County's only university admitted a total of 76% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 18% enrolled.

At least 25,481 people applied to Washington County college in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 17,473 students enrolled in the university, including 14,768 in undergraduate and 2,705 in graduate programs. Only 3.5% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (73%) and Hispanic (11%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, University of Rhode Island stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 17,473 students.

U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.

This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.

Some educational data is based on estimates. Shifting demographics among student populations can sometimes result in gender totals which do not equal 100%.

Institution	# of Applicants	# of Admitted Students	Total Enrollment
University of Rhode Island	25,481	19,366	17,473