SAN MARCOS, Texas — San Marcos just got a lot bigger as Texas State University students came back to campus in record numbers for the fall 2024 semester. 

What You Need To Know

  • The university, which was first established by the Texas Legislature 125 years ago, boasted record numbers this fall, with 40,678 students enrolled, breaking the previous record of 38,849 set in 2016

  • Texas State President Kelly Damphousse highlighted that more than 41% of this semester’s students are first-generation college students

  • Texas State’s Round Rock campus also experienced a boost in enrollment of approximately 24% over fall 2023

  • The university attributed the large increase to the addition of 10 new academic programs to the campus, which will allow for students to start and complete their four-year degrees in Round Rock without having to take the arduous trek down Interstate 35 to San Marcos

The university, which was first established by the Texas Legislature 125 years ago, boasted record numbers this fall, with 40,678 students enrolled, breaking the previous record of 38,849 set in 2016. Those numbers include undergraduate and postgraduate students. 

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse applauded the historic enrollment numbers in a new release saying the school’s mission is “to serve the growing population of Texas.”

“Our strategic enrollment plan is making it possible for more qualified Texans to earn a life-changing college degree,” said Damphousse in the release. 

Damphousse highlighted that more than 41% of this semester’s students are first-generation college students.

“The demographics of our student body perfectly mirror those of the state of Texas,” he said in the release. “We are driven to make higher education more accessible to Texans and dedicated to ensuring that every capable student finds a clear path to earn a degree at TXST–including for those who start at a community college or who have stopped out of college for a while.”

The Bobcats also saw a record number of first-year students (8,165), and the university received a record number of freshman applications (45,157) for this semester. According to the release, Texas State was the most-applied to university in the state among high school seniors using the Apply Texas application. 

Texas State’s Round Rock campus also experienced a boost in enrollment of approximately 24% over fall 2023. The university attributed the large increase to the addition of 10 new academic programs to the campus, which will allow for students to start and complete their four-year degrees in Round Rock without having to take the arduous trek down Interstate 35 to San Marcos.

“It’s very special. I feel very privileged to be able to say that I’m part of the first freshman class (at Texas State Round Rock),” said Natalie Orantes Cordero, a nursing major from Pflugerville, in a news release. 

Cordero said that she chose Texas State Round Rock to begin her college career because of the smaller class size. 

The Round Rock campus opened in 1996 and previously only offered upper-level and graduate courses. 

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