CARBONDALE (IRN) – A downstate college is reporting a boom of incoming freshmen.

This fall, over 1,500 new students at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale are starting their college career, which is an increase of around 7% over last year’s incoming class.

SIU officials reported that nearly 11,000 prospective students applied to attend classes at the school this fall, which was a 19% increase from 2021.