Update on Enrollment for Fall 2026

In this message:

• Current enrollment trends for the upcoming academic year
• Continued engagement efforts to support enrollment and retention
• Our commitment to student success 

Dear colleagues,

With the traditional college decision deadline of May 1 behind us, we have a preliminary look at enrollment trends for the upcoming academic year.

While official enrollment data will be released following the fall 2026 census, we want to share our progress toward enrolling our next class of University of Arizona students.

Current enrollment trends
We are encouraged by several indicators of progress that reflect our new enrollment management strategy, which is focused on student success and building a sustainable financial future for the university.

• In-state enrollment for first-time students is up from last fall in 14 out of 15 counties across the state.
• Yield rates (45.6%) for in-state students are up substantially over fall 2025 (39.2%).
• Our incoming class is arriving with stronger academic profiles, with a higher average GPA than fall 2025. 
• Enrollment in the W.A. Franke Honors College is trending at an all-time high, and the U of A will welcome 12 of the 20 Flinn Scholars, Arizona's highest-achieving high school graduates. 
• Graduate students are accepting their offers at slightly higher rates than last May, driven by growth in domestic admissions. Enrollment gains are strongest in programs aligned with high-demand labor market needs, where we have strategically focused our offerings and will continue to do so. 

At the same time, we are experiencing challenges shared by many other higher education institutions across the country.

• Although we are still accepting students and receiving additional deposits, it is likely that the incoming fall 2026 class will be smaller than the one that arrived in fall 2025. Once we have more complete information about the final size of the class, we will provide another update.
• Non-resident (domestic) and international student enrollment are trending lower than previous years across programs.
• International student interest in master's programs is declining most steeply.

At the national level, more students are signaling that they will stay closer to home. Additionally, fewer international students intend to enroll at U.S. universities this year. These trends are driven by geopolitical, economic and policy factors that no single institution can control. Such trends have impacted the U of A’s enrollment as well.

Steady engagement work
Our enrollment management staff is actively engaging with prospective first-year students. We are doing the same with transfer students and their families who have expressed interest in the U of A and have until June 1 to apply. Efforts include staff visits to community colleges, one-on-one in-person and virtual support for transfer students, credit pre-evaluation, expedited pathway reviews, and hosting on-campus visits.

The team is supporting graduate international admissions by targeting recruitment in markets aligned with our strategic research initiatives and historical enrollment success. Colleges have received digital resources to support their outreach and are deploying tuition waivers strategically.

Over the summer, we will continue to collaborate with campus colleagues to support enrolled students and bring them into the fabric of the university so they begin to feel a true sense of belonging before they arrive this fall.

This important engagement work continues through Orientation to keep committed students on their path to joining the Wildcat family.

Our commitment
As Arizona's flagship land-grant institution, we believe admission should be the beginning of a successful path to graduation and beyond. Our efforts are rooted in expanding access to Arizona students and admitting academically prepared students who can succeed and build strong careers with as little debt as possible. This is why we have strengthened admissions review, expanded statewide outreach, targeted financial aid toward our neediest students, and awarded merit-based scholarships to those who are well-positioned to graduate on time.

For prospective students who may benefit from additional preparation before arriving on campus, we are connecting them with alternative pathways, such as community college and online programs, which may lead them to the U of A main campus when they are better positioned to succeed.

Every decision we make is guided by our commitment to success for every student, our North Star.

Thank you for your continued partnership as we navigate these final weeks of the admission cycle and support student success and retention heading into the fall semester.

Warmly,

Patricia A. Prelock
Provost and Chief Academic Officer

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