More than 42,900 students enrolled for ASU's Fall 2025 semester, an increase of 1,000 students from the prior year, according to ASU News. This coincided with ASU's acceptance rate of 90%, according to U.S. News.
This growing population means more students attending classes and using the parking garages, dorms and off-campus housing in the surrounding areas. This develops a need for more accommodations, which can be seen in the University's academic departments.
As of Fall 2025, ASU offers more than 400 undergraduate degrees and 450 graduate degree programs across its campuses as well as online, according to ASU admissions.
The University's campuses are the Tempe, Downtown Phoenix, West Valley and Polytechnic campuses.
Mia Custer, a junior studying public service and public policy at the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, currently attends classes at both the Downtown Phoenix and Tempe campuses.
READ MORE: Small fish in a growing pond: Students experience finding their place at ASU
Custer is originally from California and came to ASU because of the University's size and the potential opportunities for networking.
"Since it's such a (large) school with a ton of different campuses, I felt like there was going to be a lot of opportunity. So those are the main things that drew me toward it," Custer said.
As the years have passed at ASU, Custer has expressed difficulties with class registration, feeling that general education classes fill up too quickly due to the amount of students needing the same courses.
This notion seems to be a common one for many students. The different registration times can make it difficult to get the classes students need.
Alondra Aceves Lopez, a sophomore studying biomedical sciences at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, shared a similar experience as Custer during registration.
"It's always been the Barrett students filling it up," Aceves Lopez said. "I have to change my schedule all around."
Besides classes being filled by honors students, Aceves Lopez has also struggled with classes randomly disappearing after registering.
For other students, some classes are expanded if the need is larger than the seats available.
Joshua Perez, a sophomore studying electrical engineering at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, is accustomed to missing out on required classes due to his major's population size.
"They're designed to fit the entirety of the sophomore class. But I remember the class I didn't get into, they ended up expanding (it)," Perez said.
Another aspect of ASU that has been greatly impacted by this growing admission rate is transportation.
Students at ASU have varying forms of transportation options ranging from parking permits, hourly to daily parking, the Valley Metro Rail and intercampus shuttles.
However, many issues have come from the University's parking facilities. While ASU does offer permits, they can be pricey and do not necessarily guarantee a parking spot.
According to ASU's Parking and Transportation Services, permits do not reserve a specific spot but allow for parking in a certain location. Prices are based on the facility's proximity to destinations on campus.
Oftentimes, instead of paying for permits, students opt for hourly parking or even off-campus parking due to how expensive these permits can be.
"Me, personally, I did not pay the parking pass because $400 (and) $600 is not for me," Aceves Lopez said. "So I actually park in public parking, and I do have to walk 15 to 20 minutes to get to my class."
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Custer, like Aceves Lopez, also has to navigate the parking predicament between both the Downtown Phoenix and Tempe campuses.
"For downtown, I normally just find street parking so that's never really been an issue," Custer said. "I would say in Tempe, I always end up paying for parking for my classes and the parking structures are always pretty full."
Despite these struggles, ASU continues to grow every year, with students coming from all over the world. While dealing with overflowing parking and registration is a result of ASU's large population, it also brings other aspects.
This growing population brings different cultures and experiences to a diverse state like Arizona. It has created the melting pot that is ASU and its education.
"The more the merrier. The more people here, the more perspectives that get to clash and mix and get challenged," Perez said. "I feel like that's the heart of any good university campus."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Senna James and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at dbtorre4@asu.edu.
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Daniela Torres Martinez is a part-time community reporter for the State Press. She has previously worked with the Chic Magazine at the Walter Cronkite School. She is in her first semester with The State Press.
