Prospective Parents & Guardians Admissions

Preparing Them for Success

Blessed with one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, Westmont ranks as a leading liberal arts institution and one of the top Christian colleges in the nation. Full-time, highly qualified Christian professors care deeply about students and help them grow intellectually, spiritually, personally and professionally. A robust foundation in the liberal arts teaches students essential skills such as critical thinking and effective communication. Internships, service and cross-cultural experiences offer a real-life perspective and prepare graduates for life beyond Westmont.

WE WANT YOUR STUDENT TO FLOURISH AT WESTMONT. 

At A Glance

78%

INTERNSHIPS

Internships are a great way to test drive a career. Seventy-eight percent of students participate in internships, many of which offer academic credit.

76%

GRADUATION

Westmont’s 76 percent four-year graduation rate exceeds the six year national average by 17 percentage points.

94.3%

CAREER PLACEMENT AND GRAD SCHOOL

Ninety-four percent of the class of 2023 graduates were employed, accepted to graduate school, participating in a service/volunteer program, or serving in the military within six months of graduation.


Visit & Receive a

$1,000 SCHOLARSHIP

2025 applicants can receive $1,000 in additional aid for coming for an official admissions visit to campus!

Schedule Your Visit


A FOCUS ON CAREER PREPARATION

Career Resource Center

The Career Resource Center helps students discover their strengths, explore the workplace through internships, connect with alums in similar fields, and find God’s direction for their life.

A HOLISTIC, TIMELESS EDUCATION

Join a tradition of holistic education that coincides with your family’s values. At Westmont, the emphasis on the whole person prepares you for a meaningful life. Every year, we welcome more than 400 new students to Westmont. We prepare them for a lifetime of leadership and service in every sphere of society. They’ll encounter a host of academic and co-curricular experiences animated by our core commitments to the twin rails of rigorous academics and deep love for God and the five planks of our mission statement: our liberal arts curriculum, our Christian identity, our residential campus, our undergraduate focus and our global outlook. These enduring commitments have guided every new generation since our founding in 1937.

Committed to Affordability

 

Westmont offers generous financial aid to qualified students; see the scholarship grid below to discover if your student will receive an academic award. If you submit a FAFSA, your student may also qualify for need-based aid. Talent-based awards are available in athletics, art, theatre and music and engineering. At Westmont, students get the classes they need when they need them, so they can graduate in four years—and some even finish ahead of schedule.

Learn More About Affording College

95% of new students at Westmont receive academic scholarships, talent-based scholarships and/or need-based grants
24 Scholarship Grid

 

23 Scholarship Grid Test Optional

 

Meet the Westmont Parents Council

The council provides hospitality to Westmont parents and fosters communication between the college and parents to improve the quality of the college experience for all.

Westmont College Ranked

#1 Christian Liberal Arts College in California and the Western United States.

 

Ranked nationally by U.S. News World Report (tied at No. 108), Westmont has been one of the top two national Christian liberal arts colleges and the No. 1 Christian liberal arts college in California and the Western United States for more than two decades.

"Don't isolate yourself through the struggle" 

 Dr. Eric Nelson, Associate Dean of Student Well Being and Director of the Counseling and Psychological Services.

 

Student Success

Standout soccer player Tim Heiduk ’19 has found more than the back of the net at Westmont. He has overcome challenges, discovered his identity in Christ, experienced endless support and developed lifelong, meaningful relationships.

In his first year as a Warrior athlete, Tim scored three goals but suffered a broken foot that forced him to sit out the next season. “I chose to make the most of a difficult situation,” he says. “Though it was tough, I came to rely on my faith and was never happier. I couldn’t be in a better place, and I’m extremely fortunate and blessed to be at Westmont.”

The senior from nearby Goleta has twice won the Golden Eagle Award for his academic performance, his athletic ability and his character. He interned as a Westmont sports broadcaster and serves as the sports editor of the student newspaper. Off campus, he has contributed stories to the Santa Barbara News-Press and Presidio Sports, and he completed an internship at a local law office.

“I’m following the sports-journalism route, but the profession is in flux,” Tim says. “I’m interested in law—my dad is a licensed attorney—so that’s a possibility as well.”

In the meantime, Tim has decided to stay at Westmont through fall 2019 to compete one more year on the soccer team since he sat out his sophomore season. He will use the additional semester to double major in economics and business and communication studies.

“Westmont has been the perfect fit for me academically, athletically and spiritually,” he says.

Heidi Pullmann '19

Heidi Pullmann ’19 chose Westmont for its success in placing students in medical school and planned to become a doctor or a college professor. But her college experience expanded her sense of vocation beyond medicine. When she joined a professor in a research project, she discovered a passion for working in the lab. “I love biology and want to be deeply invested in it,” she says.

She also added a minor in religious studies. “I find religion generally fascinating as it engages a part of my brain I don’t use as much,” she says. “I wanted to grow spiritually and was ready and willing to be challenged in my faith, and my classes have done that immensely. But they’ve also affirmed that science and Christianity are compatible.”

Planning her schedule carefully allowed her to spend a semester abroad with Westmont in Jerusalem so she could live outside of the country and explore Jerusalem. She appreciated the in-depth experience with both Palestinian and Israeli communities.

Last summer, she conducted research with Yi-Fan Lu, assistant professor of biology. The department has acquired a high-tech tool to understand human neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, and she used the new micro- electrode array to detect and record the response of neurons to genetic mutation or toxins. Heidi presented her findings at the Celebration of Summer Research in September 2018. Wanting to be involved at Westmont in a deeper capacity,

she ran for vice president of the Westmont College Student Association (WCSA) last spring and won. “Serving with WCSA has helped me feel more connected to Westmont,” she says. “I had never thought about student government before, but it turned out to be a great fit for me.”

Heidi will enroll in a doctoral program at Baylor University in the fall. A professor in Baylor’s cellular molecular biology program reached out to Westmont looking for a graduate student to work in plant genetics. “I’m interested in developing better ways to grow plants through plant genetics or agricultural technologies,” Heidi says. “I hope to aid in discoveries that can help end world hunger.”

Looking back, Heidi says her four years at Westmont were sometimes difficult and she navigated relationships and figured out her faith. “I’ve met the most amazing people here and developed genuine friendships,” she says. “I leave with a lot of confidence about my abilities as a scholar, a scientist and a child of God. Westmont was a safe place to work out all these things.”

Lucas Vieira ’19 went to Urbana 2018 hoping to find clear direction for his life. Instead, he realized God was calling him to be faithful. “God didn’t give me a plan at Urbana, he gave me peace,” Lucas says. “Living a successful life means being faithful to him wherever I am.”

Passionate about global and urban missions, Lucas dreams of pursuing pastoral ministry. His double major in religious studies and philosophy, his involvement in ministries, his leadership of Chapel Band and worship at Reality Carpinteria, and his global experiences have all prepared him to serve. “When I graduate, I’ll look for a job in Santa Barbara to make a living, apply to online seminary programs, plug into a local church, and see where the Lord leads me,” he says.

Lucas enrolled in Mayterm India to study Christian mission, Hinduism and social justice. He had planned to become a lawyer like his father. But walking through the dirty, crowded streets of Kolkata, he saw old men asleep on straw mats, laundry flapping overhead, and women tending small, open-flame stoves. Rows of crippled, impoverished and starving people were waiting to die outside of Mother Teresa’s Home for the Destitute and Dying. In the midst of this despair, missionaries, nuns and volunteers arrived to feed, bathe and comfort the dying. Lucas began to wonder if God was calling him to serve.

During his semester with West- mont in Jerusalem, Lucas encountered tensions and tough questions in the Middle East and appreciated how politicians and aid-workers tackled the conflict in different ways. But the stories of pastors serving in the region spoke most powerfully to him. “The people seeking to bring the gospel to these broken spaces stirred something in me, and I realized I wanted to step into that role,” he says.

On Palm Sunday, he joined Christians around the world outside the Old City of Jerusalem as they marched down the mountain, laughing, singing and dancing. He remembers it as one of the most hopeful moments in his life. “I realized that Jesus’s kingdom is real and visible,” he says.

He later made several trips to countries in Africa, which strengthened his commitment to ministry and passion for the global church. He has worked with the student ministry Emmaus Road as programming coordinator, helping teams find places throughout the world where they can serve during the summer.

Urbana changed his perspective on ministry. “I’ve been struck by how Christ isn’t calling His people to be saviors of the world, he says. “Rather He is calling us to faithfully and humbly point others to THE Savior of the world.

“God is a missionary and is still writing his story. Because we know the ending—Christ returns and makes all things new!—we can announce this hope and become ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.”

Resources

Student Safety and Support

Your student deserves to be seen and known for who they are. Resources on campus help Westmont students flourish academically, personally and spiritually.

Campus Pastor’s Office

The Campus Pastor’s Office hosts small group Bible studies (Capax Dei) led by Westmont faculty, staff and community members. Scott Lisea, the campus pastor, oversees chapel, which meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He is always available for spiritual guidance.

Disability Services

Disability Services promotes access and equity for all students and provides reasonable accommodations to eliminate barriers for all those with a disability.

Student Health Services

Student Health Services on campus includes a physician, physician assistant and nurse, as well as licensed therapists and counselors.

Campus Safety

Campus Safety services include but are not limited to security patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week, managing kiosk operations, locking and unlocking buildings, providing campus escorts and disseminating safety-related information.

Martin Institute

A spiritual formation focus through Westmont’s Martin Institute helps students develop lifelong and meaningful spiritual practices with God. Their Resident Chaplain program places a student leader in each residence hall to encourage students to integrate their faith into everyday life and provide opportunity for one-on-one conversations.

Tutoring Program

A vibrant Tutoring Program provides weekly group tutoring sessions for a range of general education courses.

Center for Student Success

The Center for Student Success offers resources like a peer-coaching program to help students navigate all aspects of the college experience.

Living on Campus

Westmont is a residential campus, with most students living on campus all four years. Resident assistants (R.A.) and resident directors (R.D.) invest in the overall development of students in their halls.

Westmont Shuttle

The FREE Westmont Shuttle provides transportation seven days a week to popular locations around the city. Students can also make an appointment with the 955, a free dial-a-ride service exclusive to Westmont students that goes to locations off the shuttle route. This service is available starting a couple of weeks into the semester, and is one of many student job options on campus!

Contact

Please contact the Alumni & Parent Relations Office with questions or directly:

(805) 565-6056

parents@westmont.edu