About half of the historically black colleges and universities listed below reported increases in the number of applicants from 2014 to 2015. Among them is Fort Valley State University, which made it easier for students to apply by handing out paper applications at recruitment events and also began offering in-state tuition to qualified students from three neighboring states. Even some colleges with a drop in applicants from 2014 to 2015 saw increases in first-time undergraduate enrollment over that period. Only 16 of the 52 historically black institutions on the list reported an increase in first-time enrollment from the fall of 2005 to the fall of 2015, while 30 saw an increase from the fall of 2014 to the fall of 2015.
| 1. | Paul Quinn College | 89.3% | 74.0% | 192.9% | 87.6% | 1,713 | 96 | 1,107 | 89 | 3,242 | 167 |
| 2. | Fort Valley State U. | 124.9% | 37.2% | 121.1% | 96.9% | 2,190 | 320 | 2,228 | 223 | 4,925 | 439 |
| 3. | U. of Maryland-Eastern Shore | 158.2% | -0.1% | 75.1% | 32.6% | 2,807 | 1,021 | 4,141 | 769 | 7,249 | 1,020 |
| 4. | Clark Atlanta U. | -7.7% | -4.2% | 67.5% | 17.7% | 9,330 | 881 | 5,140 | 717 | 8,611 | 844 |
| 5. | Alcorn State U. | 28.9% | 27.0% | 44.9% | 22.1% | 2,335 | 497 | 2,078 | 517 | 3,010 | 631 |
| 6. | Jackson State U. | -1.3% | 6.6% | 43.8% | 3.3% | 8,141 | 1,159 | 5,588 | 1,196 | 8,035 | 1,235 |
| 7. | Morehouse College | -9.2% | -9.5% | 36.4% | 10.7% | 2,520 | 661 | 1,678 | 540 | 2,288 | 598 |
| 8. | U. of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | 161.7% | -4.9% | 26.9% | 37.9% | 1,701 | 719 | 3,508 | 496 | 4,452 | 684 |
| 9. | Stillman College | 229.8% | -9.5% | 24.4% | -22.4% | 1,622 | 275 | 4,301 | 321 | 5,349 | 249 |
| 10. | Wilberforce U. | -39.3% | -2.7% | 24.3% | 451.5% | 2,628 | 187 | 1,284 | 33 | 1,596 | 182 |
| 11. | Xavier U. of Louisiana | 14.1% | 4.6% | 22.3% | 18.1% | 4,248 | 654 | 3,963 | 579 | 4,847 | 684 |
| 12. | Fisk U. | 82.8% | 0.9% | 18.1% | -4.8% | 1,643 | 214 | 2,544 | 227 | 3,004 | 216 |
| 13. | Spelman College | 27.0% | 6.6% | 16.8% | 2.5% | 3,978 | 531 | 4,324 | 552 | 5,051 | 566 |
| 14. | Florida A&M U. | 12.5% | 5.5% | 16.2% | 14.3% | 5,185 | 1,516 | 5,017 | 1,400 | 5,832 | 1,600 |
| 15. | West Virginia State U. | 66.9% | -4.2% | 16.0% | -10.8% | 862 | 381 | 1,241 | 409 | 1,439 | 365 |
| 16. | St. Augustine’s U. (N.C.) | 31.9% | -19.1% | 15.6% | -20.9% | 1,957 | 262 | 2,233 | 268 | 2,581 | 212 |
| 17. | Johnson C. Smith U. | 21.2% | -24.8% | 14.3% | 24.6% | 3,585 | 444 | 3,801 | 268 | 4,346 | 334 |
| 18. | Delaware State U. | 120.5% | -4.6% | 13.2% | 0.3% | 3,692 | 940 | 7,191 | 894 | 8,141 | 897 |
| 19. | Virginia State U. | 41.6% | -28.7% | 12.3% | -13.0% | 4,696 | 1,107 | 5,923 | 907 | 6,650 | 789 |
| 20. | Howard U. | 71.1% | 18.4% | 10.2% | 13.3% | 8,860 | 1,415 | 13,760 | 1,479 | 15,163 | 1,676 |
| 21. | Alabama State U. | -5.3% | -15.8% | 8.9% | -6.1% | 8,827 | 1,213 | 7,673 | 1,087 | 8,356 | 1,021 |
| 22. | Huston-Tillotson U. | 440.3% | -13.1% | 8.2% | -29.1% | 409 | 168 | 2,042 | 206 | 2,210 | 146 |
| 23. | Morgan State U. | -53.9% | 46.9% | 5.9% | 8.3% | 11,031 | 795 | 4,808 | 1,078 | 5,090 | 1,168 |
| 24. | Livingstone College | 188.2% | 122.8% | 3.5% | -7.1% | 1,587 | 189 | 4,420 | 453 | 4,574 | 421 |
| 25. | Claflin U. | 117.2% | 16.9% | 3.5% | 15.7% | 2,495 | 385 | 5,237 | 389 | 5,418 | 450 |
| 26. | Elizabeth City State U. | -8.8% | -52.1% | 1.8% | 28.2% | 1,678 | 560 | 1,504 | 209 | 1,531 | 268 |
| 27. | Tuskegee U. | 283.2% | -19.2% | 1.3% | -6.9% | 1,965 | 738 | 7,434 | 640 | 7,529 | 596 |
| 28. | Winston-Salem State U. | 67.0% | -18.1% | 1.0% | 4.4% | 2,681 | 1,083 | 4,433 | 850 | 4,478 | 887 |
| 29. | Florida Memorial U. | -3.7% | -16.8% | -1.8% | -18.6% | 5,297 | 453 | 5,195 | 463 | 5,101 | 377 |
| 30. | Fayetteville State U. | 88.8% | -25.6% | -4.1% | 32.6% | 2,089 | 848 | 4,110 | 476 | 3,943 | 631 |
| 31. | Bennett College | 57.4% | -22.9% | -5.3% | -4.8% | 939 | 205 | 1,560 | 166 | 1,478 | 158 |
| 32. | Oakwood U. | 105.8% | -17.6% | -5.5% | -9.6% | 968 | 410 | 2,108 | 374 | 1,992 | 338 |
| 33. | Mississippi Valley State U. | -52.2% | -8.6% | -6.6% | -7.5% | 4,832 | 405 | 2,473 | 400 | 2,310 | 370 |
| 34. | Albany State U. | 13.5% | -21.1% | -7.8% | 11.1% | 1,935 | 607 | 2,381 | 431 | 2,196 | 479 |
| 35. | Savannah State U. | -24.6% | 38.4% | -8.9% | -5.0% | 3,915 | 857 | 3,237 | 1,248 | 2,950 | 1,186 |
| 36. | Tougaloo College | 101.5% | -26.0% | -9.0% | -9.4% | 1,152 | 208 | 2,551 | 170 | 2,321 | 154 |
| 37. | Bowie State U. | -52.8% | -45.1% | -9.5% | -4.9% | 5,653 | 1,032 | 2,953 | 596 | 2,671 | 567 |
| 38. | Shaw U. | 64.8% | -33.0% | -12.8% | -14.3% | 3,053 | 600 | 5,766 | 469 | 5,030 | 402 |
| 39. | Norfolk State U. | -42.4% | -52.4% | -13.2% | -16.8% | 4,243 | 1,001 | 2,817 | 572 | 2,445 | 476 |
| 40. | North Carolina A&T State U. | -3.3% | -20.9% | -15.1% | 3.4% | 6,214 | 2,251 | 7,075 | 1,721 | 6,010 | 1,780 |
| 41. | South Carolina State U. | -27.7% | -51.2% | -16.0% | -22.9% | 3,383 | 1,013 | 2,911 | 641 | 2,445 | 494 |
| 42. | Paine College | 2.9% | -33.8% | -16.5% | -39.1% | 3,683 | 198 | 4,537 | 215 | 3,790 | 131 |
| 43. | Southern U. | -46.6% | -18.8% | -16.6% | 27.6% | 4,692 | 1,502 | 3,003 | 956 | 2,505 | 1,220 |
| 44. | Lane College | 43.3% | -11.9% | -19.1% | 42.3% | 3,299 | 504 | 5,842 | 312 | 4,729 | 444 |
| 45. | Alabama A&M U. | 0.6% | 34.8% | -20.2% | 22.8% | 7,857 | 1,099 | 9,901 | 1,207 | 7,901 | 1,482 |
| 46. | Kentucky State U. | 131.7% | -50.0% | -27.1% | -27.3% | 2,058 | 420 | 6,540 | 289 | 4,768 | 210 |
| 47. | North Carolina Central U. | 173.2% | -9.6% | -32.0% | 19.8% | 2,801 | 1,226 | 11,246 | 925 | 7,651 | 1,108 |
| 48. | Lincoln U. (Pa.) | -43.0% | -28.0% | -35.9% | 44.0% | 5,818 | 636 | 5,176 | 318 | 3,318 | 458 |
| 49. | Bluefield State College | -10.7% | 8.8% | -40.9% | 12.8% | 692 | 251 | 1,046 | 242 | 618 | 273 |
| 50. | Hampton U. | 34.7% | -22.2% | -47.3% | 5.9% | 7,617 | 1,201 | 19,473 | 882 | 10,258 | 934 |
| 51. | Prairie View A&M U. | 80.8% | 46.7% | -48.6% | 1.1% | 2,803 | 1,109 | 9,850 | 1,609 | 5,067 | 1,627 |
| 52. | Voorhees College | -47.8% | -13.9% | -49.8% | -23.9% | 2,667 | 122 | 2,776 | 138 | 1,393 | 105 |
Note: Colleges are ranked from highest to lowest one-year increase in first-time undergraduate applicants from the 2014 to 2015 admissions cycle. Two-year institutions, and colleges that were missing data for 2005 were excluded from the analysis. The 2005 figures on the number of applicants include 22 institutions that reported data from the fall of 2005, and 30 that took the option of reporting data from the fall of 2004. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data