With over 5,000 students, the class of 2025 is the largest the University of Utah has ever seen, keeping true to an annual trend of the freshman class getting larger with each passing academic year.

“Every year we work to recruit a new class of entering students,” said Senior Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Steve Robinson. “This was complicated over the last 18 months [due to] COVID. However, we have been able to share effectively with students and their families the educational experience of the U as evidenced by our growth.”

This record-setting class is the first to surpass 5,000 students, beating out its predecessor, the class of 2024, who previously held the record for the largest freshman class. Robinson attributes this growth to all the U has to offer to its prospective students.

“There are many things that make us appealing to prospective students,” Robinson said. “The accomplishments of our graduates, the amazing faculty we have, our beautiful campus and the overall student experience are just a few examples of factors that influence students to enroll at the U.”

U freshman Matt Brasher, majoring in art teaching, has enjoyed his first semester at the U.

“My first semester is going really great,” Brasher said. “My art foundations courses have been so rewarding so far, and I can tell that the professors are grateful to be back to the shops and art-making spaces in person. It feels like that energy is driving a lot of creativity in the department. It’s exactly what I was hoping my first year would be.”

Initially, Brasher was planning to start at the U in Fall 2020. He deferred enrollment to Fall 2021, a decision heavily influenced by COVID-19.

“I deferred my enrollment pretty much solely due to COVID,” Brasher said. “I had already registered for classes and done freshman counseling, but I was getting increasingly anxious about navigating a first-year art degree mostly online. I also live with a family member with type one diabetes, so that was another concern because of COVID.”

Though he is now enrolled, Brasher is still wary of COVID-19.

“The drive from my parent’s house is a little far, but it’s a lot better of a situation for me right now,” Brasher said. “Things are a little uncertain still, and rent in the city is crazy. Focusing on just work and school right now is helping me ease into everything a little easier.”

He expressed gratitude for being able to take in-person and on-campus classes, something he feared he could not do during fall 2020.

“For art classes, in person is the best,” Brasher said. “I don’t mind online courses for generals, it can be nice since I live so far from campus.”

The class of 2025 is one of the most diverse classes the U has seen, with 29% of freshmen being students of color.

Robinson anticipates the U’s incoming freshman classes will continue to follow the trend of being larger each year.

“Utah continues to grow in terms of the number of high school graduates as we approach the demographic cliff in 2025,” Robinson said. “We hope to continue to see some growth in the next few years.”

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