Montana State enrolls record 17,165 students, sets records for graduation rates and student retention

Caleb Cowen said he chose Montana State University for many reasons – one of them being that it simply “felt like home.”

Cowen is one of a record 17,165 students to enroll at MSU this fall. That headcount is up from last fall’s total, which was itself a record at 17,144. Montana State is the largest university in the four-state region that includes Wyoming and the Dakotas.

Cowen, who is from Billings, is studying biomedical engineering and is a member of the university’s Hilleman Scholars Program. He said being part of that leadership program for Montana students helped him feel confident about choosing MSU.

“Being able to connect with all sorts of people from different places in Montana helped solidify that feeling of home,” he said.

MSU welcomed 3,743 new, first-time college students