Clark Vilardebo
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Winthrop University’s campus looks busy these days, as the class of 2029 is the largest in a decade.

A preliminary count shows the fall 2025 freshman class has more than 1,000 students, with an additional 350 transfer students, however Winthrop is expecting an official count later this month.

Compared to numbers from 2022, enrollment grew by 300 students from 709 to 1,009, which is a 40% increase.

Joel Miller, vice president for enrollment management and marketing, called the numbers “a great victory for Winthrop University.”

Aimee Meader, as associate professor of mass communication, says she has noticed a lot more people on Scholars Walk, Winthrop’s main walkway.

“Absolutely this year there’s been a rise in foot traffic. Now, you start to feel the energy pick up again as people are out on Scholars Walk, enjoying the sunshine, enjoying their lunch, you can hear people laughing and talking again,” Meader said. “So I think amongst the faculty, we’re really excited about where the school year is going to take us and how spirit is going to pick up again.”

However, some students say they have mixed feelings about the size of the incoming class.

Chase Duncan, a graduate student who has seen the school grow since he arrived as an undergrad at Winthrop in 2020, said he finds the campus somewhat “chaotic.”

“I’ve definitely noticed a lot more people here, especially this semester with our biggest freshmen class yet, and it’s not just more feet I’m seeing, it’s more people on skateboards, more people on scooters, it just makes things more chaotic,” Duncan said.

Mikayla Ovrenovits, a freshman integrated marketing communication major, says there are times when Winthrop doesn’t feel like the small school she was expecting.

“I definitely think this campus is much bigger than I expected and what I was originally sold on. Concerning specifically the dining hall and the dorms, it very much feels like it’s at max capacity and overwhelming at times,” Ovrenovits said.

The Johnsonian, Winthrop’s student newspaper, reported that “approximately 96% of the freshmen class is living on campus and 45% of students utilizing on-campus housing are freshmen.”

As a result, some students have expressed concern about the availability of housing on campus.

The university reopened Roddey Hall, which was previously closed, and officials from Residence Life say Winthrop isn’t facing overcrowding issues.

An official report on the number of incoming students is expected to be released in October.