An Analysis of Enrollment Trends in the Wake of War

Since Oct. 7 and the start of the war in Israel, YU has encouraged and publicized transfer students coming to Yeshiva University due to the rise in antisemitism on college campuses. Articles published by the university have included spotlights of transfer students from Ivy League universities to YU, an increase in early decision applications and President Ari Berman’s decision to extend transfer deadlines and open more faculty positions at YU in April 2024. While there is no available data that analyzes these trends directly, it is possible to access the overall enrollment trends of YU and consider their alignment with the narrative of YU’s growing attraction. 

The total full-time undergraduate student population of YU consists of all full-time students studying on-campus and students studying in the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program (SDA), in various gap year programs. Because the war began in fall 2023 when that semester’s students were already enrolled, the first year we can expect to see its impact on enrollment rates is 2024, possibly carrying into 2025 as well.

We might expect to see an uptick in the total enrollment in fall 2024. However, total enrollment actually fell by 3.4%. In fall 2023 there were 2,940 full-time students enrolled in YU and in 2024 only 2,839. This translates to about 100 fewer students in 2024 than the previous year, 2023. Finally, in the fall 2025 semester, with 2,841 students, there is a negligible increase of 0.07 % in total enrollment. This is the equivalent to just 2 more students.

It is important to note that these decreased rates follow two years of an unprecedented high in enrollment, with a 9.8% increase (250 students) in 2022, and a 5% increase (143 students) in 2023. These increases are likely a rebounding response to the lower enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As mentioned, the total on-campus students number does not include students studying in SDA. Interestingly, although total full-time enrollment decreased from 2023 to 2024, the number of full-time students attending YU on campus increased by 1.6% (around 35 students), a statistic that before the pandemic had been decreasing by about 1% to 2% each year. 

As of fall 2025 there are a total of 2,183 full-time on-campus students. Though not as high as last year’s 2,197 students, this represents only a 0.6% decrease. This is a smaller decrease in total enrollment than the stronger negative 1% to 2% trend that preceded the pandemic.

It is striking that just when we might expect to see a rallying increase in YU’s overall enrollment, we find that it has in fact decreased. This decrease is possibly due to some students leaving YU to go to Israel, a response that might be prompted by the war, negating any increase the university saw due to the same cause. 

There are also possible factors that would increase enrollment. For example, students and their parents may have opted out of the year in Israel due to safety concerns prompting them to come straight to YU after high school. Another example: as asserted by the articles referenced earlier, some transfer students did enroll because of the antisemitism secular campuses face. At the same time, due to the war, students may have also decided to stay in Israel or move there. This potentially could minimize any enrollment increase the war did prompt. There could also be a number of reasons for the steep decrease in enrollment not pertaining to the war at all. Without knowing why each individual decided to enroll or not, it cannot be stated with complete confidence that the war is the cause of these trends. Nevertheless, these numbers raise questions as to whether or not Israel’s war and antisemitism on college campuses affected student enrollment at YU.

Despite the expectation that there would be an increase in YU total full-time undergraduate enrollment after the war began, there was a significant drop in total enrollment. Without knowing the exact reasons for each student’s choice in college, the cause of enrollment trends can only be speculated. Yet, despite the decrease in total enrollment, there was a solid increase in on-campus specific enrollment.

Photo Caption: YU Enrollment Trends (2017-2025), Data obtained from the Office of Institutional Research

Photo Credit: Meira Novick