The incoming class of 2030 is the sixth consecutive largest first-year class in state and university history with 6,437 students.
According to a Sunday press release from the university, 28% of the 6,437 are first-generation students, setting a university record. Of in-state students, 37% are first-generation.
Enrollment has increased by 2.9% from the class of 2029, which had 6,251 first-year students. Over the past six years, enrollment has experienced 45% growth.
“At a time when universities across the country are struggling, OU is experiencing remarkable momentum," OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. wrote in the release.
The release states the incoming class has an average unweighted GPA of 3.63, with 702 students earning a 4.0 high school GPA, 299 students ranking first in their high school graduating class and 137 Oklahoma State Regents' Scholars, a 17% increase since last year. There was also about a 19% increase in Oklahoma's Promise recipients, with 917 students qualifying.
Sooners during the Class Kickoff on Aug. 23, 2026.
“As we welcome the largest group of first-year students in our university's history, we're energized by the potential they bring and the success they'll achieve both inside and outside the classroom,” Jeff Blahnik, vice president for Enrollment Management and chief enrollment officer, wrote in the release.
Sooners during the Class Kickoff on Aug. 23, 2026.
To accommodate growing class sizes, OU recently opened South Hall, a new residence hall for first-year students with approximately 580 beds. This follows last year’s opening of McCasland Hall, a 560-bed residence hall for first-year students.
This year marks the first year that Traditions East is being used as first-year housing and Traditions West is being used as first-year and upperclassmen housing. The current capacity of Traditions Square is 1,125 students.
The university is continuing the construction of its new Life Sciences Laboratories Building, a 105,000-square-foot facility west of the Bizzell Memorial Library. In July, the university announced plans for a new parking garage with over 650 spaces near Goddard Health Center.
This story was edited by Macey Thaxton. Kennedy Johnson, Tori Pham and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
