After a tumultuous federal financial aid cycle, Michigan’s public universities enrolled fewer first-year students this fall than last but did not see as sharp a decline as schools nationwide.

Across the state’s 15 public universities, there are 40,764 first-year students this fall, down 1.1% from last year, according to the Michigan Association of State Universities 2024 enrollment report .

Still, the drop in first-year student enrollment is lower than that of the country as a whole, and the total student headcount is up from last year, with more students returning.