Class of 2013 Arrives at Westmont

The 320 first-year students representing the class of 2013 are moving into Westmont this week before the first day of classes Monday, Aug. 31. The incoming class includes 11 National Merit Scholars, 80 students of color and 65 students from the Tri Counties. Westmont welcomes six international students from England, Tokyo, Cairo, Kenya, China and Korea.

There are also 55 students who’ve transferred to Westmont from schools such as Pomona College, University of Colorado at Boulder, Pt. Loma Nazarene University, Biola University, Azusa Pacific University, Willamette University, Gordon College, Boston College, University of Virginia, and University of Wisconsin, Madison.

“We are extremely grateful to have such a diverse and talented group of students despite the difficult economy,” says Joyce Luy, Westmont dean of admission. “We are also thankful to donors who’ve given us the financial resources to provide 80 percent of first-year students with academic merit scholarships.”

Last February, Westmont’s Board of Trustees froze tuition for 2009-2010 because of the growing challenges for students and families to finance their college expenses. Luy says the decision will not have any negative impact on class availability or services offered to students. Westmont does not receive any state or federal funding and is not negatively affected by state and federal budget cuts.

Westmont has selected four Monroe Scholars, honoring top students with full-tuition scholarships. This year’s recipients are: Samantha Gardner of Los Alamitos, Calif.; Daniel Gee of Temple City, Calif.; Kacie Kyne of Ridgway Colo.; and Wesley Zuidema of Ontario, Calif. The students have an average GPA of 4.5 and scored 1560 out of 1600 on the SAT. The Monroe Scholarship is a four-year, full-tuition scholarship offered to a few exceptional and high-achieving first-year students each year. It’s the highest academic honor an incoming student can receive.