Samford’s rise in student population is recognizable each year. In 2024-2025, the current freshman class broke the record for the most students in the class with 1,080 students. This upcoming year, that record is to be broken again if the university’s plan of growing 2% every year for the next ten years.
A common consensus found amongst five students asked was that it was a good thing that Samford is growing, however it is important we acknowledge how that will change things on campus.
“I think it’s a good thing that a lot of people are excited to come here. That means we have an excellent school, but I think we should also keep our minds on community. We’ve always really enjoyed being a close-knit group,” said Janay Deering, a freshman, who gave her opinion on the growing population.
Deering described how the growing campus and parts of campus that are being added, such as the new dorms and the Seibert gym, are incentives for incoming students.
Chloe Allen, another freshman, gave a similar opinion. However, she mentioned how there could be pitfalls that come with this group.
“I think that it’s exciting, but I can understand why people are a little bit stressed and worried about it because it’s such a small campus and it’s hard to expand here because it’s kind of already full,” said Allen.
Piper Rapinchuk, freshman, discussed whether or not Samford adequately communicated this growth.
“I think they are always talking about how each class is bigger than the last, like whether it’s just by a couple students or what, but I think that really conveys how big Samford is getting,” said Rapinchuk.
Rapinchuk’s simple observation of the growing class sizes is evidence enough for her to be convinced of Samford’s continued growth.
Emma Grace Reeves, another freshman, shared her opinion about what she thought about the opportunities that incoming freshman are receiving over upperclassman like the new dorms.
“I totally understand because they want to attract like new people to come to Samford and have a good freshman experience, but I think there are ways they could improve the housing, probably for the upper classmen so that they get the same super nice experience as the freshmen,” said Reeves.
Caden Peschel, a sophomore, had a similar opinion about the overall growth, however he did not think that Samford communicated it well from his perspective. His opinion on the opportunities was also quite different.
“I mean, we know it’s getting bigger and they’re adding dorms and stuff, but they’re also continually telling us that there’s no room,” said Peschel.
Overall, the students expressed their excitement over the increase in student population, but their concern for the small community that is Samford.
