Goshen College welcomes largest freshman class in 27 years.

Posted: 09/09/2009 at 8:40 am

By: Audrie Garrison

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GOSHEN -- Goshen College's freshman class is the largest the school's had in 27 years, up nearly 40 percent from last year.

There are 238 first-time freshmen at Goshen College this year, said Jodi Beyeler, director of the college's campus news bureau. The last time the school had more freshman was 1982, when it had 239.

Last year, the school had 172 first-year students. Beyeler said enrollment has fluctuated during the last 20 years, with an average of about 210 students.

Administrators say some of the major causes of this increase are a change in the way the college is marketed, a new approach to recruiting students and the recession.

Beyeler said Goshen College made an effort to define its identity and image -- one of peace-making -- and even bought a TV ad for the first time (during the Super Bowl), a move she said at one time "would have been unheard of."

"Mennonites are not known for being loud," Beyeler said. "I think there's a sense that we need to be clearer and more direct about who we are."

Goshen College President James Brenneman said the school created 20 new initiatives for its marketing process, including changing attitudes about which students to recruit. He said the school has relied heavily on legacy students -- students whose relatives attended Goshen College. The college improved its relationships with high schools and identified the kinds of students it wanted.

"We went hard after a certain select group of students we thought would fit more, and it proved to be a successful model," Brenneman said.

Brenneman also pointed out that this year's high school graduating class in Indiana was large, making more people eligible for and interested in going to college, and said the recession plays a role in people's college decisions. The college offered more need-based grants because of the recession, according to a press release.

The school has 974 students in undergraduate programs this year and 1,017 overall. Goshen College has an 85 percent retention rate. Beyeler said the national average is 69.6 percent.

Goshen College Class of 2013

• Students come from 131 high
schools
• Average high school GPA: 3.59
• Average SAT score: 1110
• Average ACT composite score:
24
• 48 percent of students are from
Indiana
• 62 percent are female;
38 percent are male
• 50 percent of students are
Mennonite
• Top declared majors: nursing,
biology, education, music and
communication
• 31 percent of freshmen have a
parent or legal guardian who
attended Goshen College