Listen to this article

Seton Hall University reported more than 23,000 applicants for the Class of 2023, breaking a record at the Catholic institution for the fifth consecutive year.

Over the last three years the number of applicants to Seton Hall has risen by about 40 percent.

Of those 23,000-plus applicants, more than 1,615 freshmen are registered and set to begin classes, according to Seton Hall. That makes for the largest undergraduate class in Seton Hall history, beating last year’s record-breaking class of 2022, which enrolled 1,524 freshmen.

In addition to a record-breaking number of applicants and students, the largest class in Seton Hall’s history has continued the trend of rising academic achievement. The class of 2023 has the highest average SAT score in Seton Hall history – 1235, up 20 points in the last two years – and the highest ACT average, 26.5.

“As our reputation for academic excellence and employment outcomes has grown, so has our pool of applicants and the quality of our students,” Vice President for Enrollment Management Alyssa McCloud said in a statement. “We continue to attract some of the best and brightest in this country and throughout the world. The long and storied history of Seton Hall is unfolding in new and exciting ways as our students and graduates continue to show what great minds can do.”

Seton Hall University has held its commitment to diversity in all forms and its identity as a university of opportunity as 25 percent of all incoming students are Pell eligible; 45 percent identify as students of color; and 36 percent of all students come from outside New Jersey. In addition, 25 percent are the first generation of their families to attend college.