UMD welcomes first-year students to campus

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - This week, the University of Minnesota Duluth campus is buzzing as first-year students move in.

Students chose UMD for many reasons.

“I kind of thought about community college and all that, but I think this was just the best option for me overall,” said Blake Molstad, a first-year arriving from Champlin, Minnesota.

Despite the activity on UMD’s campus, schools nationwide are having trouble getting students through the door.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the nation is seeing its steepest decline in college enrollment ever with an 8% decrease in undergrads since 2018.

The Associated Press says high school students no longer believe college is the only way to get a good job and others think the price tag is far too much.

“I always thought I’d kind of figure it out,” said Mac House, a first-year from Somerset, Wisconsin. “And my parents are helping me out a lot,” House said.

Others were just unsure of the path they should take.

“There was a point where I wanted to take a gap year and just kind of do my own thing,” said Isabella Reichenbacher from Anoka, Minnesota.

“I just wasn’t sure enough to commit to anything big like this,” added Drew Demos from Champlin, Minnesota.

While other universities are seeing a decline, UMD Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer Lynne Williams assures this year’s class size is consistent with their average.

“We’ve got a really strong class of over 2,000 and there are some characteristics like their GPA is higher or we have [an] increase in international students,” said Williams. “So, really pleased with our incoming class.”

The Class of 2027 is as strong as ever.

“I just wanted to be a part of the UMD family, I want to be a bulldog,” said Reichenbacher.

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