Detroit Mercy’s campus is buzzing louder than ever as freshman enrollment hit record highs. Over the past few years, the campus has welcomed increasingly larger freshman classes, with Fall 2025 being its larger class on the McNichols campus. Fueled by rising national rankings, revamped recruitment strategies, and a renewed energy on campus Detroit Mercy is transforming into a vibrant hub for students eager to be part of its growing community.
Over the past few years, the University of Detroit Mercy has seen a steady and notable increase in its incoming freshman classes. With more students arriving each fall, the campus is livelier and more crowded than ever.
Based on an article from “The Varsity News” at Detroit Mercy, “For Fall 2024, the University of Detroit Mercy brought in its biggest first-year class, 655 students, since 1990. This class is 18.7% larger than last year’s 2023 freshman class of 552 students.”
As the numbers of this freshman class have not been released yet it is said that it is even bigger than the following year by admissions directors.
According to Luke Tomaszak, a recent Detroit Mercy graduate and now a freshman admissions counselor, this growth is no accident.
“Three years in a row the University has had the largest freshman class,” Tomaszak said “Our national ranking at 43 out of 4,519 total colleges and universities is elite. It might feel like a diamond in the rough school and hidden gem, but when you’re ranked 43rd in the country the numbers speak for themselves.”
Detroit Mercy’s rise in rankings and reputation has been accompanied by strategic changes in how the University attracts students. Tomaszak pointed to revamped campus visit programs like Titan for a Day, improved campus aesthetics including renovations to the Quad and Shiple Hall, and increased outreach from the admissions team.
“We’re focusing hard on connecting with high school counselors, creating engaging visit experiences and letting prospective students really feel what life here is like,” Tomaszak said. “That makes all the difference.”
Recruitment Director Trace Althoff has overseen freshman recruitment for nearly 28 years in college admissions, three years at Detroit Mercy, and has seen trends come and go, but this recent surge, he says, is one of the most exciting.
“We’ve become much more aggressive in recruiting,” Althoff said “We used to do around 100 college visits a year, now, we’re at over 400 in the fall alone. We are more active nationally visiting Chicago, Cleveland, Toledo, Windsor, Ontario, Toronto, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Dallas Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston.”
Programs like Titan Edge, a free summer prep course for admitted students, have also helped tip the scales in Detroit Mercy’s favor. The University’s targeted approach, focusing on metro Detroit while also expanding national outreach, has brought in more high-performing applicants than ever before.
But with growth comes challenges. Both Tomaszak and Althoff explain what potential challenges they are seeing.
“The biggest challenge you see is being able to house all of our first year students into classes and we’re working closely with faculty to ensure enough in-person classes and professors are available for in-person learning” Althoff said. “Communication is key. There are weekly reports sent out to the different divisions on campus so that we can maintain quality service for the students. It is important to be proactive because once you’re reactive, you’re already behind schedule.”
“As we continue to grow and plan on bringing in the fourth largest class, hopefully we will have enough room for everyone housing, parking and classes wise, but the opportunity is endless,” Tomaszak said.
Jack Tracy, a sophomore business major, said campus feels more alive than it did last year and that the changes are mostly positive.
“The Quad commons area is packed at night, Titan Fest and Rec Fest were more crowded than I’ve ever seen, and it’s great to see so much student involvement,” Tracy said. “Sure, the parking lots are full, and food lines are long, but the energy on campus is way better.”
Tracy, who worked on PTV (Prologues, Transitions, and Viewpoints) as an orientation leader, said many freshmen have commented on how welcoming and vibrant the campus feels.
“They feel like they belong here already,” he said. “And honestly, with more people around, it’s easier to build a community.”
While the growth trend is promising, both admissions staff and students acknowledge that infrastructure must keep pace. Dorms like Shiple and Quads are filling up fast, and upperclassmen and underclassmen combined are starting to feel the squeeze when registering for classes. Still, optimism remains high.
“As an alum, it’s exciting to see so many more people experiencing what I love about Detroit Mercy,” Tomaszak said. “It’s a small school feel, but we’re growing into something even more special.”
And as Tracy put it, watching the campus evolve has been nothing short of rewarding.
“More students mean more voices, more ideas and more momentum,” Tracy said. “I don’t think it’s slowing down anytime soon.”