Getting To Know: University of Arizona
Californians have looked towards the University of Arizona as an attractive alternative to their state university systems. I wanted to learn more. So, I did some research. I also made a Pinterest page that you can check out, and want to thank my friend, Jennifer Kaufman Djavadi, for sharing the photos that appear in this story. To me, the most important symbols of tis campus were Old Main (photo up top), the Wildcat statue and the memorial to the USS Arizona sunk at Pearl Harbor at the onset of World War II. From virtual tours, the most impressive section of the campus was the Honors Village, including its housing. To me, this was the best reason to choose the school, especially if you’re not from Arizona.
Arizona ranks 14th in population among US states. Yet both of its flagships, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, are members of the research-focused Association of American Universities. Among states that have two highly regarded flagships, one a Land Grant university, Arizona shares this advantage with Indiana (IU-Bloomington & Purdue) and Michigan (U of Michigan-Ann Arbor & Michigan State). When compared against these schools the University of Arizona has the largest undergraduate student body (43,000+).
Like many flagships, the University of Arizona is quite proud of its rankings, especially in physics and space sciences. However, 17 percent of classes taught here in 2025-36 had over 50 students. That’s less than Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue, but about the same as Penn State. However, Arizona’s enrollment in the Honors College (approximately 4,300), is larger than it is at all three of these schools. Ten students are selected each year for the Accelerated Pathway to Medical Education., where, if they continue to meet academic requirements, will not need to take an MCAT to be admitted to the university’s medical school.
The University of Arizona has not been an exceptionally selective flagship state school.
However, it has supported its students with merit-based aid.
Just over two-thirds of the Class of 2029 received merit aid. Interestingly, the University of Arizona is a Western Undergraduate Exchange school for only three majors. Arizona Tuition Awards for non residents were as high as $20,000/year for the 2025-26 academic year. Those who received the largest award would have paid around $23,000 in tuition and fees. This year they would pay slightly more than $24,000. The Franke Honors College also has its own merit-based and need-based awards. Just over 10% of the undergraduate student body is in the Honors College, including just under 1,000 members of last year’s freshman class.
About two-thirds of the graduates in 2025 had no student loan debt. The average indebtedness for those who had to borrow was just over $25,000. The maximum that they could have borrowed over four year from the Federal Student Loan Program was $27,000.
Here’s some interesting demographics from the university’s institutional research pages.
- From 2015 through 2024, the acceptance rate for the University of Arizona rose from 76% to 86%.
- The volume of applications rose from just over 35,000 to over 58,000
- However, the yield rate dropped from just below 30% to 19%
- Freshman class size rose from 7,200 in 2020 to more than 9,200 four years later.
- Honors College admissions are more achievable here than at many other flagships. For the Class that entered last year the average GPA was a tick below 3.9, average ACT was a 29 and the average SAT was a 1340. This is about the average student who goes to Rutgers.
In 2025 the size of the freshman class dropped to 7,500 students. This fall it dropped further down to 5,800. However, the yield rate for Arizona residents rose from 39% to 46%. There were changes to the admissions process that impacted the size of the class as well as reductions in merit awards from prior years.
Like many flagships the University of Arizona faced a deficit. However, another concern was preparedness. Freshman retention is currently at 83 percent. That’s lower than other flagships that have about as large a student body including Michigan State, Penn State University Park, Purdue and The Ohio State University. Freshman retention has also been lower than UC-Riverside (88%), an important comparison since the University of Arizona is a popular destination for Californians.
Tuscan seems like a nice college town.
Like the University of Utah, the University of Arizona has a nice blend of big city college town and outdoor recreation out of town, Tuscan has over a half million residents; it’s the second largest city in Arizona after Phoenix. Tuscan is the third-largest city in the Big 12 Conference after Houston (U of Houston) and Fort Worth (TCU). It actually has a larger population than Orlando or Salt Lake City.
A colleague of mine calls the University of Arizona “UC Tuscan,” because Californians are attracted to the community and the weather In 2024, the latest year that I could find data, the states that sent the largest numbers were California,, Washington, Colorado, Illinois and Texas. The flagships in all five states are more selective than the University of Arizona.
If you like this school, check out housing costs in Tuscan before committing to a deposit. The university houses less than a fifth of its undergraduate student body. While the university has broken ground on the Catalina, a 1,300 bed residence hall that will open in Fall 2028, it has also taken four residence halls off line for the current academic year. Just under 15% of the men and about a fifth of the women are members of fraternities and sororities. Off-campus housing is fairly expensive for a college town.
Arizona fits well in the Big 12–for men’s basketball.
The Wildcats, along with in-state rival Arizona State, joined the Big 12 Conference in 2024 At least both schools entered with a natural rivalry against each other. That hasn’t happened with other new members of Power 4 conferences.
This past season the men’s basketball team was conference champions and entered the NCAA Tournament ranked third in the nation, but losing in the Sweet Sixteen. In softball they finished third and got to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. While the Wildcats have traditionally been a baseball power, this past season was a losing campaign.
Since 2000 the football team has played in 10 bowl games, winning five. Their most significant wins happened in 2014 while a member of the Pac12. That season the Wildcats were Pac12 South division champions. They advanced to the Fiesta Bowl, in Arizona, losing 38-30 to Boise State.
Conclusions
I really like the University of Arizona for students who want the honors college experience but live in Arizona ior other states where admission to an honors college will be far more difficult. But if you want a football school in a mountain state, it might be better to look at the University of Utah.
Report Card: University of Arizona
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: C/B
- Freshman Retention: C+
- Costs:A
- Curriculum: A
- Community: A
- Comforts: A
- Connections: A (Arizona, California)/ B (elsewhere)
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