WATERVILLE, Maine — As the 2025 school year begins, Thomas College in Waterville celebrates its largest incoming class in nearly a decade.

The college's president, Jeanine Uzzi, said the school's first-year enrollment shows a more than 30 percent increase, with 17 percent of the incoming students coming from out of state and 13 percent of incoming students coming from other countries.

"This year, we did not see a decline in our international students. Our international students were very reliable throughout the pipe," Uzzi said.

Ahead of the fall semester, many colleges and universities in the state were unsure about enrollment after losing federal funding and experiencing interruptions to international student visa approvals following U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's halt on inter

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