Steady numbers, record-setting diversity marks 2010 class

Calvin College's 2010 entering class is academically strong, multicultural,
internationally diverse and gender-balanced.

The First-Time-In-Any-College (FTIAC) and transfer student populations
remained steady at Calvin for the third straight year. 935 first-time students
join 100 transfer students to make up the 2010-2011 entering class of 1,035.
The comparable figures were 936 FTIACs and 92 transfers for 2008-2009 and 945
FTIACs and 110 transfers last year.

Academically, the 2010 FTIAC class boasts both ACT and GPA averages that are
at or above the school's all-time high marks. A record high 727 of these
students (78%) received an academic merit scholarship.

Calvin has also attracted a record-setting number of minority students (121)
and international students from 30 different countries. And, the incoming FTIAC
class is within a few students of being exactly gender-balanced (466 men, 469
women).

"We are grateful that we were able to recruit such an academically excellent
and well-balanced class," said Russ Bloem, Calvin's vice president for
enrollment management. "It has long been an objective at Calvin to build a
community that celebrates cultural diversity and is shaped by the biblical
vision of the kingdom of God, a kingdom formed '…from every tribe and language
and people and nation.' (Revelation 5:9, 10)."

The school's overall retention rate also improved from a year ago and total
enrollment for 2010-2011 stands at 3,991 students. Students hail from 56
countries, 43 states and the District of Columbia, and 6 Canadian provinces.
Just over half of the students are from Michigan.

-end-
Received on Wed Sep 22 13:41:21 2010