University of Arizona reports 19% drop in first-year students

The University of Arizona confirmed Thursday that fall 2025 enrollment of first-year students dropped by 19%, mostly due to declines in out-of-state and international students.

Under the shifting trends, the university is seeing 23% fewer out-of-state students and 9% fewer international students, for an overall 4% drop in its total student enrollment, which is 54,384.

That “substantially increases the percentage of Arizona students,” the UA said in a news release.

The UA intentionally cut merit-based financial aid for out-of-state students in recent years while dealing with a budget deficit.

Declines in enrollment have also been attributed to a “demographic cliff” facing universities across the U.S., referring to a steep decline in 18-year-olds in the U.S., starting around 2025, due to lower birth rates that began in 2008 during the Great Recession.

The drop in international students, meanwhile, is due to the “challenging year for students unable to obtain U.S. visas,” the UA said in its news release Thursday.

First-year enrollment is down from about 9,300 in 2024 to 7,500 this fall, out of which 62.5% of students are Arizona residents and 37.5% are out-of-state students.

UA’s first-year enrollment returns the university to “traditional enrollment levels after record cohorts between 2022 and 2024,” the university said Thursday.

The confirmed drop in first-year students is close to the 20% UA’s enrollment management office had told its student housing partners to expect back in June, as previously reported by the Arizona Daily Star.

International students

UA has 330 fewer international students this fall, for a total of 3,309, down from 3,639 a year ago.

Under the Trump administration this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revoked the visas of thousands of international students studying at universities across the country, making them vulnerable to arrests, detention and deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.

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Nationally, the number of international students arriving on visas to the U.S. declined by 28.5% in July 2025 compared to July 2024, according to a U.S. International Trade Administration data in a Forbes article in August. The drop included a decline of almost 50% in students from India.

Additionally, the Trump administration’s travel ban on nationals of 19 countries, the temporary suspension of visa interviews and limited appointment availability are expected to result in the decline of new international student enrollment this fall, Forbes reported.

Out-of-state students

In UA’s total enrollment, not just first-year, the number of out-of-state students dropped to 22,848 from 29,726 a year ago.

The university intentionally reduced merit-based financial aid for out-of-state students to help deal with its budget deficit in recent years, revealing that strategy to the Arizona Board of Regents in December 2023. The deficit, originally estimated at $240 million in fall 2023, has now been eliminated.

According to a UA faculty leader, admissions officials have talked about this strategy to attract fewer out-of-state students in recent internal meetings.

‘New enrollment management strategy’

This year’s total student enrollment of 54,384 is down from about 56,500 in 2024, nearly 53,000 in 2023 and about 51,130 in 2022.

“Our new enrollment management strategy intentionally prioritizes student preparedness and long-term success,” said UA Provost Patricia Prelock in the UA news release. “Rather than focusing strictly on growth, we are expanding access, particularly for Arizona students, and ensuring that those we admit can succeed and graduate prepared for strong careers with as little debt as possible.”

The news release reported that the percentage of Arizona residents who are Pell Grant eligible — a federal scholarship program for undergraduate students with financial need — has increased, but didn’t give specific numbers.

Transfer student enrollment, which means students who transfer to the UA from community colleges, increased from 2,584 in fall 2024 to 2,675 in fall 2025, with Pima Community College being the top transfer institution.

“The U of A is expanding pathways for Arizona students through strengthened transfer opportunities with Pima Community College, Cochise College and Arizona Western College, while also building stronger partnerships with tribal colleges,” said the release. “Most students begin at the main campus in Tucson, while others start through Arizona Online or the University of Arizona Global Campus.”