Sherman, Texas -- The Austin College Class of 2028 and new students transferring from other institutions settled into their residence halls and a new stage of their lives over the weekend of August 23, 2024, in anticipation of the 2024-25 academic year. Classes began on Tuesday, August 27, 2024.
Mary Randers, Vice President for Institutional Enrollment, said, “We are excited to welcome an incoming class of 365 first-year and 49 transfer students. This class is bringing countless hours devoted to student leadership, community service, student-led research projects, honing their craft as artists, musicians, computer programmers, and more.”
The new students hail from 20 states (Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina), and three countries (Cameroon, Germany, and Italy). Students of Color represent 58% percent of the incoming class, and 34% identify as first-generation students. 47% will compete as ’Roo student-athletes, and 30 are Presbyterian students attending as Westminster Scholars.
This cohort of 414 new students is the second-largest group of incoming undergraduate students in the college’s history. In 2018, the College set a new record with 440 new undergraduate students. With the addition of the 34 graduate students who started in the College’s new Master of Medical Science – Physician Assistant program earlier this summer, the College has welcomed a total of 448 new students this year, breaking their 2018 record.
Austin College President Steven O’Day said, “As we begin our 176th year, we are excited to welcome the largest group of new students to our campus in the College’s history. The energy these first-year students, transfers, and inaugural class of physician assistant graduate students bring to our college community has been absolutely electric. Austin College is the place to be!” He continued, “At our traditional Opening Convocation, I was pleased to remind the Class of 2028 that thousands of students have processed for Convocation before them, and thousands more will follow. This place holds so many stories, and now theirs is one of them. Wherever they come from, wherever their journey ultimately takes them, they are now part of Austin College’s proud history, and Austin College is part of theirs. We’re excited for this historic year to begin.”
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, pre-professional foundations, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 44 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 50 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and an expert faculty of more than 100 educators allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. The College, founded in 1849, is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.
