The record-setting size of the University of Southern Maine’s incoming class of 2025 — fueled by a 33% increase in out-of-state students — caught the attention of Maine Public reporter Robbie Feinberg, who filed a story for NPR’s Marketplace after interviewing USM senior Fantasia Perez as she led an admissions tour of the Gorham Campus for a group of prospective students.
“This past semester, we’ve had people from Alabama, California,” Perez told Feinberg. “I think I’ve sent letters to students all over the country, really.”
The incoming class at USM includes students from 32 states and six countries. The class also includes a significant increase in students who self-identify as racially and ethnically diverse — 19% more than in 2020. Approximately 41% of the new students — both first-year and transfer students — achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in high school or at their previous college, and 16% achieved a perfect GPA of 4.0.
Jared Cash, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at USM, said that as of the May 1 National Decision Day, a traditional milestone for higher education admissions nationwide, a University-record 1,305 students secured their place among the incoming class at USM, 3% higher than the recent high set in 2018. Since then, another 250 students have joined this incoming class, and growth is expected to continue in July and August as transfer students chart new learning and career plans.