The University of San Diego Welcomes Its Newest Students
Nina Dameri eagerly opened her new residence hall door in Founders Hall on the University of San Diego (USD) campus, with her mom following closely behind. The new USD student from Northern California had carefully organized her belongings for the trek to USD and chronicled her first few days on Instagram.
USD was proud to welcome its newest first-year and transfer students and kicked off the school year in September with its orientation event, known as OLÉ! Weekend — an exciting time filled with students meeting friends, moving into residence halls, celebrating the Mass of Welcome and filling the sold-out stadium to cheer on the Torero football team.
This year’s incoming class was chosen from the largest pool of applicants in USD history and arrived with an impressive, average weighted GPA of 4.02. The students represent 17 different faith traditions and come to the campus from 40 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 22 countries and three U.S. territories or military bases around the world and 25% are the first in their families to attend college.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Class of 2029. At USD, we have much to celebrate,” President James T. Harris III, DEd, told the students and their parents during the weekend’s new student and family welcome address. “Just this summer Ollie Tarvet, a member of our men’s tennis team and a rising senior, qualified for Wimbledon and made it to the second round and played the defending Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz, on center court. We also enjoyed watching our USD women’s volleyball team represent the United States at the world university games in Berlin, Germany this July.”
The president also recognized other notable USD alumni, including Jonathan Kim ’12 who graduated summa cum laude with a degree in mathematics and went on to become an astronaut who’s currently orbiting Earth on the International Space Station. He also mentioned Matthew Dominick ’05, who graduated from USD with a degree in electrical engineering and previously commanded the International Space Station.
“So, we can proudly say that we are not only a global university, we are also intergalactic!” the president exclaimed, to an arena of cheering students.
And, while USD continues to celebrate the Class of 2029, the university has already set its sights on the application cycle for the Class of 2030. Melore Nielsen, USD’s inaugural vice provost for enrollment management, recently announced that the university will offer both early decision and early action options for first-year applicants, beginning with those who plan to apply for the Fall 2026 semester.
“This strategic change aligns us with our peer institutions and reflects our commitment to providing students and families with earlier, more personalized engagement,” Nielsen said. “Offering early options strengthens our ability to build deeper, earlier relationships with students and families and give them more time to engage with USD, explore our community, and take advantage of special visit opportunities designed just for admitted students in February.”
USD, named recently by Niche among the Top 10 Best Catholic Colleges in the nation, is now accepting applications. Prospective students who are ready to make USD their first choice (early decision) or who want the benefit of an early admission decision without the binding commitment (early action), may apply by Nov. 1, 2025. USD’s deadline for regular decision admission is Jan. 15, 2026.
Wanna know more? Start here sandiego.edu/BecomeATorero. Worried about those essay questions? Don’t stress — we’ve got a sneak peek waiting for you, click here. And if you really want to imagine yourself at USD, check out the OLÉ weekend event video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM2UemofGGg
Go Toreros!
