Campus News

Westminster College Welcomes Class of 2012

Utah’s only private, comprehensive liberal arts college achieves record enrollment

SALT LAKE CITY– Westminster College today welcomed the class of 2012, marking the highest total enrollment in the school’s history. With 2,168 undergraduates and 719 graduates, the college's total 2008-09 enrollment of 2,887 is up seven percent from last year.

A total of 447 freshmen began classes today, including a substantial increase in out-of-state students and high achieving students. A full 36 percent of the incoming class is from outside the state of Utah. These 159 non-Utahns include students from 32 states, from the coast of California to the coast of Maine. Eleven are international students from countries including Norway, France and Canada, many of whom were attracted to Westminster’s new intercollegiate ski and snowboard team. Sixteen percent of the freshman class is from underrepresented groups.

Students were drawn to Westminster for a variety of reasons, including close personal relationships between students and faculty, the range of academic programs offered and the school’s unique location in close proximity to a vibrant city and world-class mountain recreation. One student noted, "The reason I chose Westminster, out of all of the colleges I applied to, was primarily because of its size and the close knit community vibe I got from the faculty I met with, as well as the campus." Another mentioned, “There are a lot of places where an 18-year-old can get a solid education. There are not a lot of places as beautiful and as easy to travel to than Salt Lake City, that are also affordable, and that place emphasis on producing balanced graduates.”

In terms of pure academic accomplishment, the freshmen class at Westminster possesses an average high school grade point average of 3.5, well above the national average for high school seniors. The Westminster College class of 2012 also includes:

Valedictorians                                                                13
National Hispanic Scholars                                             8
National Merit Finalist (Full tuition)                                10
National Merit Semi-Finalist (Half tuition)                       2
Sterling Scholar Regional Winners (Full tuition)            8

About Westminster:
Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster is distinguished by its unique environment for learning. Westminster prepares students for success through active and engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. Westminster’s unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake, further enriches the college experience. For more information, visit www.westminstercollege.edu