Westminster hits applicant record

STAFF REPORT

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Westminster College has launched a waiting list due to a record number of students wanting to enroll at the 156-year-old, private, liberal arts college.

The maximum capacity for its incoming class was reached earlier this month with 450 students paying deposits to enroll as freshmen in August. Westminster received more than 3,000 applications, double the previous record, and the incoming students boast a 3.5 high school grade point average in college preparatory core subjects.

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

Westminster traditionally limits its incoming classes to 350 freshmen and 25 transfers, 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.

President R. Thomas Williamson said the large incoming freshmen class will not change Westminster’s mission. “Westminster is small by choice. We strive to keep class sizes level each year and becoming an impersonal mega-university is not part of the Westminster plan,” he said.