Rhode Island Colleges Showcase Diverse Admission Rates

Students navigate the picturesque campus of a Rhode Island college during the vibrant autumn season.

News Summary

Rhode Island’s colleges display a wide range of admission rates for prospective students, from Brown University’s highly selective 5.4% to Roger Williams University’s more accessible 88%. The competitive landscape reflects varying institutional selectivity, with implications for applicants. As enrollment trends shift following tuition incentive programs, the contrasting rates significantly influence student decisions regarding higher education in the state.

Providence, Rhode Island – Admission rates for the Class of 2028 among state institutions in Rhode Island demonstrate considerable variation, ranging from as low as 5.4% at Brown University to 88% at Roger Williams University. This wide disparity reflects differing institutional selectivity, with implications for prospective students navigating the college admission landscape.

In the Ivy League, Brown University’s acceptance rate of 5.4% positions it in the middle among its peers; Harvard University has the lowest rate at 3.41%, while Cornell University holds the highest acceptance rate within the group at 7.34%. Brown enrolled a total of 2,638 students this year, emphasizing the competitiveness of elite colleges in Rhode Island.

Conversely, universities such as Roger Williams University and Johnson & Wales University display more accessible admission rates. Roger Williams University reported an admission rate of 88%, which allows for a broader pool of applicants, thus providing increased opportunities for students seeking higher education. Similarly, Johnson & Wales University’s Providence campus maintains an admission rate of 83%, while its Charlotte campus is slightly lower at 73%.

Other institutions in the state have varied acceptance rates as well. Rhode Island College has an admission rate of 81%, positioning it favorably among state colleges. The University of Rhode Island follows with a rate of 77% and a middle GPA range of 3.40 to 4.12 among accepted students. Salve Regina University averages a 69% acceptance rate, with entries typically boasting a GPA of 3.5.

Further down the scale of selectivity, Bryant University’s admission rate stands at 65%, with its accepted applicants averaging a GPA of 3.6 and an SAT score of 1270. Providence College, with an acceptance rate of 50.8%, reveals insights into its demographic of accepted students, with 87% having participated in high school sports and 20% holding class office.

In contrast, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) presents a particularly competitive admission scenario with an acceptance rate of just 14%. RISD enrolled 2,084 undergraduate students for the 2024-2025 school year, maintaining an average class size of 15 to ensure an intimate educational atmosphere.

The significance of these admission rates is amplified by current enrollment trends, particularly for Rhode Island College, where declines have become pronounced since the introduction of the Rhode Island Promise program in 2017. This initiative offers two years of free tuition at the Community College of Rhode Island, creating a shift in the landscape for prospective students.

Data indicates that full-time freshman enrollment at Rhode Island College dropped by 19% from 2017 to 2018, and transfer applications fell by 17.3% during that same time period. As of fall 2022, the undergraduate enrollment at Rhode Island College was reported to be down by 10.2% compared to the previous year, totaling 4,719 students. This represents a staggering decrease of 37.1% in overall undergraduate enrollment since a peak of 7,505 students during the 2013-2014 academic year.

In response to these declining trends, Governor Dan McKee has proposed the Hope Scholarship, a program designed to provide free tuition for in-state, full-time students at Rhode Island College for their third and fourth years. This initiative could potentially assist approximately 1,200 students over the course of three years and would primarily rely on federal stimulus funding to support it. However, legislative leaders have yet to commit to the proposal, leaving its future uncertain.

As discussions continue around affordability and access to higher education in Rhode Island, the contrasting admission rates across the state’s colleges may serve as a critical factor for students making decisions about their educational futures. These figures highlight not only institutional selectivity but also the evolving landscape of education in the state.