UConn Fielding Record Amount Of Applicants

STORRS, CT — University of Connecticut officials Monday said more than 38,000 students have applied — so far — for spots in the Class of 2025, a record high.

UConn officials said Monday they will begin to inform applicants who have been offered acceptance as first-year students on the Storrs campus, for which received about 36,000 applications.

The other 2,000 or so applications are from students seeking spots a UConn regional campus.

"Many more" are expected in coming months, as application deadlines approach for regional campus and transfer admissions, UConn officials said.

This year’s applicant pool is UConn’'s most diverse in terms of "racial and ethnic" backgrounds, with about 45 percent of UConn Storrs applicants identifying as members of minority populations.

Interest from Connecticut students also was very strong, with applicants from all of Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities in addition to others from throughout the U.S. and other nations.

"That is a rush to quality," President Thomas Katsouleas said. He noted that, while many institutions have seen a dip in applications during the coronavirus pandemic, the numbers have increased at "top public universities like UConn and others perceived as continuing to offer academic excellence."

Nathan Fuerst, UConn’s vice president for enrollment planning and management, said the prior record was 35,980 applicants for the class that entered in fall 2016.

There has been an increased interest in health-related majors such as nursing and allied health, likely spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

This is also the first year of a three-year pilot program in which undergraduate applicants can decide whether or not they wish to submit their SAT and/or ACT scores to be considered as part of the University’s holistic review. The test-optional policy also is believed to have encouraged applications from potential students who might otherwise not have considered UConn to be within reach, Fuerst said.