Almost 7,400 new undergraduates are set to join UConn Nation this week, including about 6,400 first-year students across all campuses and almost 1,000 transferring to the university from other institutions.

UConn’s campuses are starting to bustle with activity as they prepare for students to start moving into residence halls in coming days, including new housing at UConn Hartford and expanded housing at UConn Stamford.

Overall, UConn expects to have almost 25,900 undergraduates enrolled for the fall semester across all campuses. More than 21,000 of them will be based in Storrs, with the rest at Stamford, Hartford, Waterbury, and Avery Point.

The student body will include about 4,500 first-year students starting at Storrs, earning their place in a competitive application pool of about 60,000 people from around the globe. About 1,900 other first-year students will be enrolled at the regional campuses.

“We are thrilled to welcome another exceptional class of students to UConn. This year’s incoming Huskies bring tremendous academic talent, curiosity, ambition, and a genuine desire to make a difference in their communities and beyond,” says Vern Granger, UConn’s Director of Undergraduate Admissions.

“We are proud of the work our admissions team has done to identify and welcome such an outstanding group of students, and we look forward to seeing all that they will accomplish as members of the UConn community,” he adds.

In addition to approximately 6,400 first-year students starting at UConn, the University is welcoming almost 1,000 transfer students. About 775 will be enrolled at Storrs, with the rest at the regional campuses.

“Bringing in such an outstanding group of students is made possible because of how the UConn community comes together,” says Nathan Fuerst, UConn’s Vice President for Student Life and Enrollment. “The credit truly belongs to everyone: faculty, staff, advisers, residence life, recreation, dining, and so many others.”

This year’s first-year students from Connecticut come from 158 of the state’s 169 towns and cities, along with 48 states and 78 countries.

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

Thousands of graduate and professional-level students also start classes soon at all campuses, including at the schools of law and social work, both in Hartford; and the schools of medicine and dental medicine at UConn Health in Farmington.

The new first-year undergraduate students will include 147 valedictorians and salutatorians of their high school graduating classes, and about 600 who accepted invitations to join the highly competitive UConn Honors Program.

“We’re so excited for this year’s class, which brings the best and brightest students from all backgrounds and every part of the globe to our campuses,” says Marco Dinovelli, UConn’s
Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Chief Enrollment Officer.

Also noteworthy: About 37% of the first-year students in the Class of 2030 across all campuses represent the first generation in their family attending higher education.

The University has worked diligently over the last several years to ensure access and support for first-generation students, including linking them with peers, mentors, academic services, clubs, and other activities.

The work reflects a larger mission to help students at all levels feel a sense of belonging in the UConn community, which is important both to recruiting newcomers and retaining current students from one year to the next.

“We want students to know that they do not need to have everything figured out. Many people and offices at Storrs and at all of our regional campuses are ready to help them, empower them, and inspire them to be in charge of their college journeys,” says UConn Dean of Students Fany DeJesús Hannon.

UConn’s regional campuses continue to draw strong interest from applicants.

Of particular note, UConn Hartford is welcoming about 685 new first-year students – a jump from last year’s approximately 490 newcomers, and driven in large part by the opening of its first student housing, the Pratt Street Residence Hall.

Overall, UConn Hartford expects to have more than 1,300 undergraduate students enrolled, along with its large population of master’s and professional degree students.

At UConn Stamford, the largest regional campus, about 2,400 undergraduates will be enrolled. Of those, more than 900 are first-year students.

About 290 newcomers are joining UConn Waterbury, where the total undergraduate enrollment will be nearly 700; and more than 150 newcomers are enrolling at UConn Avery Point, where the total undergraduate population will be more than 400.