McGuire Blatz ’29, from Pittsburgh, found out about John Carroll University when he was just 9 years old, when his sister committed to JCU. Four years later, his brother went to JCU as well. Once Blatz toured JCU, he “fell in love with the campus and community.”
Like Blatz, 682 other freshmen enrolled at the university. The 2025-2026 freshman class has increased by 19% compared to the 2024-2025 class. The enrollment of freshmen for 2024-2025 was 596.
Pleased with the increase in enrollment, Vice President of Enrollment Carolyn Noll Sorg said, “I think it’s a moment of incredible momentum here at John Carroll right now. We have now had two straight years of growth in the freshman class and that’s been fun to see. I think as we get ready for this next group to apply, our applications open for the class of 2030, we see they’re already tracking ahead and their campus visits.”.
This year’s total enrollment is 3,906, with last year’s being 3,740 and 2023-2024 being 3,437.
From 2023-2024 to 2025-2026, the percentage increase of incoming freshmen is 22% going from 556 to 683.
“This was the most selective we’ve been in admission for this class as far back as I can see the
data, which goes back to 2001,” Sorg said. “As we were being more selective, we were also being more selective among students that they really felt were going to be a great fit in the community.”
Sorg said the increase in students may be from a variety of factors, such as investments going into campus buildings, like the new AWE Center and the redone library. Other factors include personalized tours for admitted students, staff members going out of their way to be friendly and admissions counselors reaching out to students.
Similar to Blatz, Kyah Huckleberry ’29 also found her way to JCU, though she came through golf recruitment. The Ashland resident said, “I decided to tour the campus and immediately fell in love. I had the opportunity to meet with the psychology professors, which sealed the deal for me. I felt at home and the professors were kind to my family and me.”
Huckleberry, who is already on JCU’s golf team, plans to major in psychology with a concentration in clinical and counseling.
Sorg said, “The goal is that our team really gets to know families and I just can’t say enough good things about the team of people that are working here on behalf of the institution to recruit, to market, to package financial aid, to be responsive to families. It truly takes the whole campus.”
JCU has also expanded its geographic footprint of students beyond the state area, pushing for more students across the nation. Out-of-state student enrollment has increased by 43% from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026.
“We want people from coast to coast to know what John Carroll is and what we do here and to sort of share the gift of what John Carroll education is with people beyond just our backyard,” Sorg said.
The biology department had the most incoming freshmen this year, with 96 students. Finance came second with 63 students and then another 60 in the Boler College of Business, which tends to make up a third of incoming students.
In the College of Health, the nursing cohort reaches 50 to 55 students per year. Growth can be seen in the number of exercise science majors, with 44 students this academic year.
Biology is the biggest department at John Carroll because “it reflects national trends and interests, like growth in STEM and the Cleveland healthcare market is not too far from campus, with multiple partnerships through the school,” Sorg said. “Sports leadership is the fastest growing major for this year’s group of incoming freshmen. Psychology also appears to be popular among this class.”
“I like to think that when the class of ‘29 came to visit campus, they saw something that felt like a place that could be home,” Sorg said.