Westminster College Launches Waiting List Due to Record Enrollment

Westminster College has launched a waiting list due to a record number of students wanting to enroll at the 157-year-old, private, liberal arts college in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Westminster reached maximum capacity for its incoming class May 5 with 470 students paying deposits to enroll as freshmen next August. Westminster received nearly 4,000 applications, which shattered last year's record by 33 percent. Westminster has had a nearly 200 percent increase in applications in the last two years.

The incoming students boast a 3.5 high school grade point average in college preparatory core subjects and average nearly 1100 on the SAT, over 80 points above the national average.

Dean of Admissions Brad Tokar said Westminster would honor any extensions to the May 1 deadline that were granted by Westminster admissions counselors and accepted students placed on the waiting list would be contacted in chronological order if positions would open in the class.

Tokar credits the collaborative efforts of the Westminster community for their response to the record number of students. "Our Admissions staff has done an outstanding job and worked extra hours to serve our prospective students and their families. We receive tremendous support from our alumni, faculty, staff, and coaches."

"Westminster remains one of the great higher education values for those students choosing a high quality, student-focused, and highly personalized college experience," Westminster President Dr. Richard Dorman said. "Our graduation rate performance in providing Westminster students a high quality, liberal arts education is recognized as among the very best in America among all colleges and universities. For the third year in a row, we were named to the President's Honor Roll for excellence in service learning - the federal government's highest recognition for institutions committed to teaching civic engagement. Stellar placement rates for our graduating seniors in their professions or in graduate school further reinforce that Westminster graduates are highly regarded and bring with them a strong work ethic and deep personal values that mirror the character-building efforts we believe are central to a liberal arts education." 

Westminster traditionally limits its incoming classes to 375 freshmen, but the renovation of residence halls and construction of the Berlin Village student townhouses has provided flexibility to accommodate additional students. Westminster's enrollment includes over 1,500 undergraduate, graduate, and lifelong learning program students.

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