August 31, 2022 – In this new academic year, Marist welcomes one of its largest incoming classes in history, with more than 1,340 freshmen starting their college careers as Red Foxes. The incoming Class of 2026 is also among the most racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse in the College’s history, with more than one-quarter identifying as students of color.  This first-year class comes to Marist from around the country and the world. 58% of the Class of 2026 comes from outside New York State, with Marist first-years hailing from states such as Wisconsin, Texas, Maryland, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Missouri, Louisiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan and Tennessee.

On the international front, the new first-year class features students from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and one student from Ukraine. The full student body is also as wide-ranging as it has ever been at Marist. The current Red Foxes come from nearly every state and over 50 countries from around the world.

Among the first-year class, there are eleven National Science Foundation Scholars (NSF) in the class. Marist was awarded a grant from NSF earlier this year to support high achieving students in STEM majors. There are also four new Gilder Lehrman Institute scholars, awards distributed to exceptional students who want to study history. 

A Marist student moves in to campus over the weekend for the new academic year

“We are fortunate to have so many talented students joining us this fall,” said Sean Kaylor, Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing, and Communication at Marist. “This incoming class has overcome the uncertainty of the past few years through strong academic performance, being intellectually curious and making a difference in their high schools and local communities. We can’t wait to see what they accomplish at Marist and beyond!”

Returning students have some words of wisdom for the new class.

“To the Class of 2026, make sure to take advantage of everything there is to offer at Marist and make the most of your time here,” said Lauren Curry ’24. 

“Marist is a place with a big heart and big opportunities, make the most of it.” said Erin Trodden, ’24.

Of the freshmen class, 53 students are enrolled in Marist’s unique full-year abroad First-Year Florence Experience (FFE) and First-Year Dublin Experience (FDE) programs. A record 36 new students are enrolled at Marist’s Florence, Italy campus this fall for four-year bachelor degrees.

The families of two new Marian Hall roommates meet during Move-In Weekend.

Marist’s Study Abroad program is ranked second in the nation among master’s-granting institutions for semester and academic-year abroad as well as total number of students studying abroad in the most recent Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. More than half of Marist students spend time abroad before graduation.

“Studying abroad allowed me to grow both personally and academically,” said Grace Williams, ’23. “It was one of the most integral formative experiences of my life and I am eternally grateful to Marist for the chance to live in Florence.”

This is also a big year for transfers, with Marist welcoming over 140 new transfer students for the fall semester, which is a 27% increase in enrollment compared to last fall. Transfer students come from 14 different states including California, Washington, Maine, Florida & Georgia. There are also international transfer students from Canada, China and Colombia. 

“Transferring to Marist was the best decision I’ve ever made,” said Jenna Farley ’22. “The community is just so welcoming and there's always such a great energy on campus that makes every day exciting!”