As their first year at Brown rapidly approaches, new undergraduate students are perusing dorm-room essentials, connecting with other Brunonians and anxiously awaiting their first day of classes. But while the class of 2030 may share a graduation year, the newest batch of incoming first-years comes from a diverse range of backgrounds — from their home countries to their standardized test scores or whether they’ve got a fake ID.
The Herald polled 495 incoming first-year students between Aug. 8 and Aug. 18. Here are some of the key takeaways from the data.
Access and explore all the data on The Herald’s interactive data dashboard.
The majority of students identify as very or somewhat liberal, with athletes making up a greater percentage of the conservative student body
In regards to political ideology, the class of 2030 did not surprise: about 73% of incoming first-years identify as liberal, with just 7% identifying as conservative. These numbers are consistent with previous Herald polls — in 2025, over 70% of students in the class of 2029 identified as liberal while only about 7% identified as conservative.
While the vast majority of incoming students lean left on the political spectrum, recruited varsity athletes are more likely to identify as conservative than their non-athlete peers. About one in four varsity athletes identified as somewhat or very conservative.
The overall class is relatively evenly divided regarding their likelihood to participate in a protest at Brown, but that likelihood is directly correlated to a student’s political views. Only 3.6% of somewhat conservative students say that they are likely to attend a protest during their time at Brown, but this number steadily increases moving further left on the political spectrum: about a 13% likelihood for moderate students, a 33% likelihood for “somewhat liberal” students and a 66% likelihood for “very liberal” students.
Students were also polled on their preferred political candidates for the 2028 presidential election, and while about a third had no opinion, an additional third hypothetically cast their vote for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y. 14). Former Vice President Kamala Harris came in second place, garnering about 18% of student votes. The most popular Republican candidate was Vice President JD Vance with just 2.4% of the student vote.
Three-fourths of the class of 2030 call the United States home
Whether in Canada, Brazil, Ghana or India, a fellow class of 2030 Brunonian is never too far away. The majority of incoming students reside in the United States, but the next most common home countries are China, the United Kingdom and India, respectively.
Students were also polled on their nationality and immigration status, and 15% shared that they were attending Brown as a student visa holder. Recruited varsity athletes were more likely to be natural-born U.S. citizens compared to their peers, and 100% of students who had a parent or guardian attend Brown identified as natural-born U.S. citizens.
Within the United States, California, New York and Massachusetts were the most common home states — collectively accounting for nearly half of the poll’s respondents.
Economics is the most popular intended concentration
While some students enter their first year intimidated and uncertain about their college major, three departments at Brown beat out the “undecided” category for the class of 2030’s primary intended concentrations. Economics came in first with 8.6% of respondents, biochemistry and molecular biology accounted for 6.5% of respondents and international and public affairs stole the third place spot with 6.1% of respondents.
The popularity of Brown’s Department of Economics was not limited to students’ primary concentrations. About 40% of respondents indicated that they intend to double concentrate during their time at Brown, and of those students’ intended secondary concentrations, economics came out on top once again.
While over half of students say they are certain about their intended concentrations — with those studying the life sciences indicating the highest level of certainty — concentration decisions were somewhat impacted by the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Only 26% of respondents said their intended concentration had been “not at all” influenced by the growing prevalence of AI.
The majority of first-years are single… and looking for something more
Students looking for love on College Hill are in luck. The majority of incoming first-years said they were single, with about 30% describing themselves as “single and looking for a relationship.” This percentage was higher among female students, none of whom indicated that they were “hooking up with multiple people.” On the other hand, 2.7% of male students said that they were.
On the physical side of romance, about one-third of respondents answered that they’ve had sex before. Christian students just slightly beat out agnostics for the most sexually active religion among incoming first years.
Incoming first-years view Brown’s campus as safe
On Dec. 13, a gunman opened fire on the Brown University campus. The shooting sparked widespread debate over campus security, safety and the administration’s response to the event. This year’s edition of The Herald’s First Year Poll included a series of optional questions about students’ perception of campus safety, as well as how the mass shooting influenced their decision to attend Brown.
On a scale from one to 10 — one being the least safe and 10 being the most safe — a plurality of incoming first years rated the safety of Brown’s campus at a seven. When compared to other U.S. universities, this number rose to an eight.
In terms of their college decisions, over half of the class of 2030 said that the Brown administration’s response to the Dec. 13 shooting had no impact on their decision to attend the University, and about 38% of the incoming class also said that the student response to the shooting did not influence their decision to attend Brown. About 15% of first-years said that the student response to the Dec. 13 shooting “somewhat positively” influenced their decision to ultimately become a Brunonian.
Ann Gray Golpira is a Section Editor covering Arts & Culture. She is from Norfolk, Virginia and plans on concentrating in both International and Public Affairs and Anthropology. Outside of The Herald, you can find her writing, recording and producing her original music.
