About 7,500 of the best and brightest first-year and transfer students from around Connecticut, the United States, and the world will join UConn Nation in coming days with the start of the new academic year.

With applications continuing to soar in recent years and exceeding 63,200 in the most recent cycle, the University is welcoming its largest-ever group of about 6,550 first-year students, including record highs at the Storrs and Stamford campuses.

All told, UConn expects to have about 25,500 undergraduates at its campuses around the state, including more than 20,500 at Storrs, when classes start on Monday for the 2025-26 academic year.

They include a record 4,715 new first-year students in the Class of 2029 at Storrs and 1,850 at the Stamford, Hartford, Waterbury, and Avery Point campuses.

“To welcome a record class of diverse and talented students yet again is so exciting and impressive,” says UConn Vice President for Student Life Nathan Fuerst.

“Our colleagues across all of our campuses — from our faculty and staff to career and academic advisors, housing staff, recreation, student health, the chefs in our dining facilities, and so many other people — are all prepared to deliver the very best education and experience for our new and returning students,” he says.

UConn Stamford continues to experience particularly strong enrollment growth with more than 980 new first-year students entering this fall, setting a new record at that campus.

Strong enrollment is also projected at Hartford (about 490 new first-year students), Waterbury (about 220), and Avery Point (about 160) for the new academic year.

In addition to the first-year students joining UConn, about 760 students are transferring to Storrs from other institutions, along with about 200 new transfer students at the regional campuses.

“We are thrilled to welcome a remarkably talented and diverse first-year class,” says UConn Director of Undergraduate Admissions Vern Granger. “This class represents our university’s commitment to academic excellence and inclusive representation, and we’re confident their contributions will strengthen our UConn community for years to come.”

All numbers are preliminary, with final figures to be determined on the semester’s 10th day.

In addition to the 25,500 undergraduates, thousands of additional students are also enrolled in UConn’s schools of law, medicine, and dental medicine along with students undertaking graduate, postgraduate, and professional program studies.

Among UConn’s incoming Class of 2029, about 36% of students are the first generation in their families to attend college and 167 led their high school graduating classes as valedictorians or salutatorians.

The highly talented incoming class also includes 602 first-year students whose achievements earned them a spot in the highly competitive Honors Program.

First-year students from Connecticut come from 162 of the state’s 169 towns and cities, along with 41 states and 81 countries.

“Our new class is not only academically strong, but also richly diverse – bringing fresh perspectives from across the state, nation, and world,” Granger says.

First-year students will start moving into UConn’s residence halls on Thursday and Friday, with returning students moving back over the weekend.

Students returning to Storrs after time away in the summer will find the campus landscape changed with several capital projects well underway, along with improvements inside and around several residence halls.

Construction continues on the new School of Nursing Building on Bolton Road near the South Campus dormitories, as does work on the final phase of the Gant Science Complex renovation at North Eagleville and Auditorium Roads.

The north end of Mirror Lake also is a hub of activity as its dam and spillway are replaced to address potential flooding concerns. Across campus, Hugh S. Greer Field House and Wolff-Zackin Natatorium are undergoing work as they are transformed into the Bailey Student-Athlete Success Center.

UConn also replaced flooring in the entirety of Buckley Hall; the Beecher and Vinton buildings in the Towers Quadrangle; and dozens of units in Hilltop and Charter Oak apartment complexes.

Crews also were busy cleaning and repainting rooms, making repairs, and doing other work necessary to welcome back residential students.

One particularly noticeable project took place in the outdoor activity space adjacent to North Campus and the Northwest Quad, which formerly housed an old basketball court and abandoned handball court.

UConn Residential Life, Facilities Operations, and Recreation crews collaborated to create two revitalized basketball courts, a walking track, improved green space, and a multipurpose space with new asphalt and better drainage.

By removing overgrown brush, they also restored the walls once used for handball and will use them for a mural program, in which students and student groups can submit design ideas by Sept. 15 that are centered around the theme, “Students Today, Huskies Forever.”