Incoming Class One of the Strongest in College History

The 333 members of the incoming class of 2010 have begun arriving at Westmont. Joyce Luy, dean of admission, says the first-year students represent one of the strongest and most selective classes ever. There are also 41 transfer students.

Orientation programs run through Sunday, August 27. The first day of classes is Monday, Aug. 28.

The freshman class arrives with an overall academic GPA of 3.8, up from 3.74 last year. The students also have an average SAT score of 1200. That was good enough for 64 percent of the first-year class to earn academic merit scholarships ranging from $7,000 to full tuition.

Elri ten Brink is one of three first-year students who earned the full-tuition Monroe Scholarship. She was born in South Africa and was a top student at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego. She first heard about Westmont from friends at church and received some college brochures through the mail. She plans on majoring in biology.

“I want to be a pediatrician,” she says, “so I’ll have to look at med school in a few years. My mom’s a pharmacist, so I guess it runs in the family a little bit.”

Many of the first-year students were accepted to other prestigious colleges including Wheaton and the Claremont colleges as well as Yale, Stanford, Pepperdine and Georgetown Universities.

Daniel Wendler is another Monroe scholar. He was a top student at Carlsbad High School. He was accepted to Wheaton College as well as Baylor, Arizona State and St. John’s Universities. But he says he knew long ago that he wanted to come to Westmont.

Choosing a major has been more of a challenge. He says he’s considering business, psychology or Spanish.

“I’m interested in community development, maybe in a Third World country,” says Wendler. “Rather than give them food, I want to help them become self-sufficient, start businesses, give them training, help them get a loan and help the community pull itself out of poverty.”

Selectivity was also a premium. Just 65 percent of first-year applicants were admitted to Westmont.

The diversity numbers are also strong with the class of 2010. There are 85 students of color, more than a quarter of the freshman class.

The first-year students come from all over the world, including 39 states and five foreign countries. Thirteen freshmen are from Hawaii. There are also many local students coming to Westmont. There are 45 first-year students coming from the Tri-County area, representing 14 percent of the class of 2010.