University at Albany is set to welcome its largest freshmen class this fall. This comes as higher education enrollment slowly increases following a COVID-related decline.
The state quad at UAlbany was filled Tuesday afternoon with sounds of carts rolling on concrete, people shuffling about and excited chatter. It's move-in day. New students are taking pictures, meeting their resident assistants, and setting up their rooms.
Nearby, incoming freshman Kyra Made loads up a cart. She's excited to start the school year. But, the excitement comes after a period marked by a rollercoaster of emotions.
"I wasn't excited for like a good month," Made said. "I was nervous, and then I was scared, and then I was sad. But like, I'm here, and I'm happy again."
The Yonkers resident said she realized it was time to leave the nest. For her, pursuing higher education was more important than her fears.
"If you get a degree, you get more money and more money, more experiences in life, more things to do, more things to play with, you know," she said.
UAlbany says its incoming class 20% bigger than last year. The university is welcoming more than 3,500 freshmen this semester — among its largest incoming classes ever. The increase is reflective of a national trend as more students choose to pursue higher education. According to the National Student Clearing House Research Center — a higher education-focused nonprofit, universities have seen a slow but steady increase in enrollment.
Undergraduate enrollment saw a 1.2% increase in the fall of 2025 and a 1.3% increase in spring of 2026. Institutions of higher education are beginning to experience a bounce back from a decline in enrollment between 2020 and 2022.
UAlbany President Havidan Rodriguez says students are beginning to see the value high education again.
"We know for a fact that students that get a college degree, number one, they have greater opportunities of being employed," Rodriguez said. "They have higher salaries. They have better health outcomes, better access to medical care. They live long and they live happier lives. I mean, those are all consequences of students when they graduate from college vis-a-vis those that don't so clearly, higher education provides so many opportunities for our students."
Rodriguez adds the university helps students regardless of which path they choose after graduation.
"Growing opportunities for our students to graduate from UAlbany and then enter the labor market, or pursue graduate education-that this is a great place to be today," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez's words ring true for Keyana Newton, who is hoping to study social welfare. She says her goal of becoming a school counselor is more achievable with a degree.
"Human connection, robots can't take," Newton said. "I feel like no matter what, you're going to need a therapist, human interaction. So I feel like a social major is the best way to go to keep getting a job and pursuing a higher like career and like just leveling up as you go."
