Westminster College begins the new academic year with its tenth straight year of record enrollment and the College’s largest recorded student population.

The College expects to start the fall 2009 semester with 1,080 students.  This represents a steadily increasing enrollment of 9.1 percent over last year.  This year’s student population represents 28 states and 66 different countries.

“Westminster has become a school of choice for many families,” says George Wolf, Vice President and Dean of Enrollment Services.  “We experienced a major increase in applications by new students and we have maintained a high retention rate for existing students.  This continued growth is just one more validation that we are providing a valuable educational opportunity at Westminster.”

The new incoming freshman class has 318 students as compared with 244 students in the fall 2008 class.  These students come from 18 different states and 33 different countries.  For the first year in recent history, Westminster officials had to establish a wait list for prospective freshman due to the surge in enrollment.  Total new students reached just over 390  this fall, which is over a 20 percent increase from last year.

New students will arrive August 21, and at 4 p.m., August 22, go through the traditional New Student Columns Ceremony.  Then at 4:30 p.m. President Forsythe will host the New Student Convocation at Champ Auditorium with featured speaker Westminster alumna Dr. Elizabeth Malm-Batsi, ’01. 

Classes at Westminster begin August 26.

“We look forward to another banner year at Westminster with this outstanding student body that we will be welcoming into our community,” says Dr. George B. Forsythe, President of Westminster.  “We take our mission seriously of developing leaders of character in a global community.  Those young people will one day be Westminster graduates, ready for a lifetime of learning and service, prepared to make a difference in the world.”

Founded in 1851, Westminster is one of the Midwest’s best private liberal arts colleges, according to the rankings of U.S.News & World Report.  Forbes magazine just selected Westminster as the Top Value College and University in Missouri.  The Princeton Review recently named the College as one of the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the eighth straight year.  Newsweek-Kaplan named it “One of the 372 Most Interesting Schools in America.”  Westminster has also been recognized as one of 240 Colleges of Distinction and CosmoGirl magazine named the school one of the Top 100 American Colleges for women.  This selective college for men and women is situated on an 86-acre residential campus with small class sizes taught by top-notch instructors.