Hope College has enrolled a record number of students for the second consecutive year.
Hope has 2,943 students this fall, topping the
high of 2,920 set in the fall of 1998. It is the fourth
time in five years that enrollment at Hope has topped 2,900
students.
The overall total also includes a record-setting
755 first-time students. Hope has enrolled a record number
of first-time students during each of the past three years.
"This has been one of the most rewarding
conclusions to a recruiting year that I've experienced at
Hope," said Dr. James Bekkering, who is vice president for
admissions at the college.
The student body is comprised of 1,184 men and
1,759 women from 36 states and territories, as well as from
27 foreign countries.
Students transferring to Hope from other colleges
and universities total 63, compared with 81 in 1998. There
are 100 students enrolled in off-campus programs, compared
to 98 last year.
The enrollment by class, with last year's class in
parentheses, is: freshmen, 779 (771); sophomores, 726
(713); juniors, 638 (601); seniors, 669 (691); and special
students, 131 (144).
The largest representation is from Michigan with
2,148 students, followed by: Illinois, 236; Indiana, 84;
New York, 58; Ohio, 50; Minnesota, 34; Iowa, 25; Wisconsin,
24; New Jersey, 23; California, 12; and Pennsylvania, 10.
Foreign countries represented in the student body
include Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Ecuador, Ethiopia,
France, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Liberia,
Mexico, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Romania,
Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkey,
the Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Zambia.
Hope College was chartered in 1866 and is
affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA). The
college offers courses in 56 majors leading to a Bachelor of
Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of
Science in Nursing degree.