A Sea of New Faces

The sounds of laughter, the number of lost parents, and the search for parking spots reached a fevered pitch in August, as Willamette welcomed the largest freshmen class in its history

“You are big and you are beautiful,” exclaimed Campus Life Dean Bob Hawkinson at the Opening Days welcome program for incoming freshmen and their parents. But size is not the only thing that makes this class unique. The first-year class has one of the strongest academic profiles of any class in Willamette’s history with a median SAT of 1240, median ACT composite of 27 and median high school g.p.a. of 3.85.

This past spring, Willamette received a record number of applications resulting in the largest class size for entering freshmen and transfer students at 543 and 71 respectively. Even though Willamette was more selective this year, the class size is a direct result of the yield rate, which rose an unprec-edented nine points over last year.

The College of Liberal Arts admissions staff, that worked many hours sifting through more than 2,500 applications, was overjoyed with the quality of this year’s freshmen class. Robin Brown, vice president for enrollment, said to the incoming class: “I believe you have chosen well in coming to Willamette, and, likewise, I believe we have chosen well in selecting you. You will discover that our faculty are passionate about their teaching and care a great deal about the quality of your academic experience at Willamette. With you, they will take hold of your goals and help you be successful.”