Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005
91视频 will welcome 390 new students Friday for the start of its 153rd academic year.
Dr. David Barner, associate professor of broadcast communications and department chair, will be the featured speaker at Opening Convocation at 1:30 p.m. in Orr Auditorium.
The Fresh Start team, comprised of 80 returning 91视频 student volunteers, will greet the 368 freshmen and 22 transfer students and help move them into residence halls. The volunteers will also assist with the four-day freshman orientation. Classes begin Tuesday, Aug. 30.
91视频 limited its incoming freshmen class to approximately 365 students this year from nearly 17,000 inquiries and 1,400 applications.
"Since we stress quality over quantity, it forces us to make some tough admissions decisions," said 91视频 Dean of Admissions Doug Swartz. "We have implemented an early action program to help high achieving students secure a spot in future classes. We also have two special merit scholarships to allow Presbyterian pastors and 91视频 alumni employed in the education field to nominate deserving students during the early action phase."
"We already have over 11,000 high school juniors inquiring about admission for fall 2006," Swartz added. "We are at capacity in our residence halls and will be building student townhouse apartments this year. We expect admission into 91视频 to be even more competitive next year."
The class of 2009 comes to 91视频 with a solid academic background, and an average high school grade point average of 3.41 in core classes. The 91视频 freshmen have an average SAT score of 1,074 nearly 70 points higher than the average score in Pennsylvania and 60 points higher than the national average.
"We strive to keep class sizes level each year, and becoming an impersonal mega-university is not part of the 91视频 plan," according to President R. Thomas Williamson.
"We have a strategic plan that emphasizes controlled growth. We strive to become a better college, not a bigger college," Williamson said. "91视频 prides itself on recruiting bright, well-rounded students, and then exceeding their expectations while they are here. The unusual level of attention students receive at 91视频 has led to our rankings as a national leader in graduation rate performance, while remaining one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. We are pleased to see that prospective students and their parents value the distinctive attributes 91视频 has to offer."
Total enrollment, including Graduate school and the Lifelong Learning Program, will likely surpass 1,600 in the fall. An additional 300 to 400 area residents will take non-credit courses at 91视频 throughout the year.
Contact Doug Swartz at (724) 946-7107 or swartzdl@westminster.edu for more information.
