Admissions
August 29, 2025
Wrapping up an action-packed day of meeting families, opening doors, and welcoming the high-achieving University of Portland Class of 2029 to The Bluff, President Robert Kelly punctuated 2025 ‘Move-In Day’ with an annual President’s Welcome address designed to make first-year students feel right at home from day one.
They immediately became valued members of the highest ranked private institution in the Northwest on Forbes’ new list of America’s Top Colleges—an outcomes-driven university that boasts the state’s best four-year graduation rate and high earnings after graduation.
“I want to welcome you, assure you that you made a great college choice, and tell you to get excited for the journey of a lifetime,” Dr. Kelly told the new class of Pilots. He invited them to “a time filled with so much promise, so much joy, and so much anticipation.” And he challenged them “to achieve more than you have ever dreamed” in a Catholic, Holy Cross community dedicated to preparing all students for lives of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.
Closing his remarks with a ‘Go Pilots” chant that echoed across the purple-hued Chiles Center Arena, Dr. Kelly sent new students and families to that evening’s New Student Barbeque, followed by an event-filled Orientation Weekend featuring academic open houses, a Silent Disco, Bite on The Bluff, and a Pilot men’s soccer victory.
“We are thrilled to welcome more than 800 new Pilots to their home on The Bluff,” said Dr. Kelly. “They are brilliant, motivated, and already contributing so much to the vibrancy of our campus. We can’t wait to see what they accomplish over these next four years, and long after they graduate from the University of Portland.”
Preliminary enrollment figures count 815 new and transfer students joining returning Pilots for the 2025-26 academic year. According to UP’s Office of Admissions, the first-year Class of 2029 boasts one of the highest cumulative high school GPAs in recent memory—3.69. The incoming class represents 35 states across the U.S. as well as 15 countries. Nearly 40 percent identify as Catholic, and 44 percent are First Generation college students.
“It’s a great time to be a Pilot,” said Mai Nhia Xiong-Chan, Vice President for Enrollment Management. “We proudly claim the highest number of degree-seeking undergraduates among Oregon private institutions, and our exceptional Class of 2029 builds on our positive momentum as a university of choice in the West.”
By Monday morning, August 25, Orientation activities gave way to the steady beat of students crisscrossing campus for the first day of classes. A dozen Pilot women’s and men’s home soccer matches will pass before Fall Break arrives in early October. Fall semester final exams begin on December 8.
Dr. Kelly, now into his fourth year as president, knows how quickly the college experience can fly by. Speaking with local TV media visiting campus for Move-In Day, he recalled one of his favorite nuggets of advice for first-year Pilots:
“I want you to take the sponge—everything we offer at the University of Portland—and squeeze it dry.”
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
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