Westminster College is set to welcome a record 460 new students to campus with orientation activities Friday.

The class was recruited from a record 3,026 applicants. The incoming students had a 3.42 high school grade point average and averaged nearly 1,100 on the SAT, about 100 points above the national average.

Brad Tokar, Westminster's dean of admissions and enrollment management, praised the efforts of his staff in recruiting the freshman class. "Our counselors put in longer hours and increased the number of high school visits from 250 to over 440," he said. "In addition, we hired two temporary employees to help our office staff process applications."

The Residence Life staff is responsible for assigning housing for the new arrivals. Dr. Neal Edman, Westminster's dean of student affairs, said, "The Student Affairs staff has prepared for as many as 420 new students in the past, so the increase to 460 hasn't posed any problems for us. We're anxious to provide all our new students a top-notch orientation program and the many support services they will need to get them off to a great start."

Perhaps one of the areas of campus life most affected by the increased population is food service. Jeff Creveling, Sodexo's food service director at Westminster, said, "We've been making plans all summer to accommodate our new first-year class. In addition to hiring more staff, we look forward to working with many first-year student workers."

"We will be adding a new food outlet, 'The TUB Smart Market Express,' which will be open for lunch Monday through Friday," Creveling added. "Located in the southwest corner of the dining area [in the McKelvey Campus Center], The TUB Express will feature fresh-made 'grab-and-go' salads and sandwiches, along with bottled beverages and assorted snacks."

Contact Tokar at (724) 946-7109 or e-mail tokarbp@westminster.edu for additional information.

More Stories