July 21, 2025
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
For the second year in a row, Temple University jump in deposits from accepted students who plan to attend the school in the fall.
Despite changing trends in higher education, Temple University could see its largest class of incoming freshman this fall.
The North Philadelphia institution said it received 6,313 deposits from first-year admitted students, which is the highest in its history. That's 9% more than the amount received last year at this point, and it continues a trend after there was a 29% increase in fall semesters from 2023 to 2024.
Locally, checks increased by 20.3% from first-year students from Philadelphia, by 18% for those from Bucks, Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster and Montgomery counties, and by 20% across the state as a whole. Deposits were also higher for accepted applicants from New York state, Georgia and Washington, D.C.
Temple spokesperson Stephen Orbanek said while some people do make deposits and then decide not to attend, it's typically the best indicator of the general size of the freshman class.
"You have your students who apply, then you have your students who are admitted and then the next step is making a deposit, which is basically saying you intend to come and show up in the fall," Orbanek said. "Those numbers do drop off, but obviously having the most deposits in Temple University's history from first-year undergraduate students is a really, really good sign. It means, hopefully, they intend to come here this fall."
In total, 50,580 applications were submitted to the school for first-years and transfer students for the Class of 2029, which is also a record.
Temple's boost comes amid tuition increases and a consolidation of a number of smaller universities in the region. Last week, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Board of Governors voted to increase full-year tuition by $278 for 10 state-owned universities for the upcoming school year. On July 8, Temple leadership also approved a 3.6% increase in tuition, which starts at $19,608 for in-state students and $35,232 for out-of-state students, not including the $528 per semester in mandatory fees.
The cost increase was put in place to make up for the state funds that the university receives, which has been stagnant at $158.2 million for six years. However, the school managed to lower its deficit from $60 million to $27 million by eliminating 190 positions, including vacant positions. It also came just days after President Donald Trump signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill" act, which set limits on the amount that students and families could borrow, set higher taxes on schools with large endowments and changed how schools can access federal loans to make it dependent on the incomes of their graduates.
This year's incoming class, though, will also be the second to benefit from the Temple Promise program, which offers free tuition for students living in Philadelphia who's families make $65,000 or less. Approximately 500 students took advantage of the program last year.
Temple's boost in students could also be due to the changing environment in higher education across the state after a number of shutterings among smaller, private institutions. Since 2022, Rosemont College agreed to merge with Villanova University, Salus University merged with Drexel University, Villanova acquired Cabrini University, St. Joseph's University merged with the University of the Sciences, the University of the Arts closed and subsequently filed for bankruptcy, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts ended its bachelor's and master's programs. According to Higher Ed Dive, Pennsylvania saw 12 closures and mergers of colleges and universities since 2016; New York was the only state that had more.
How the changes play out in the actual graduating class remains to be seen.
"Hopefully, it all continues the way that it's trending now, back-to-back years of where we see considerable growth among our first-year undergraduates," Orbanek said.
