LEIA LEHRER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
JORDAN FOX
LAYOUT EDITOR
9/11/2023
The start of a new academic year means a new class of incoming students for Alma College. These are the statistics for the class of 2027, provided by Courtney Hale, Senior Director of Enrollment Management Systems & Operations.
In total, there are 397 incoming students for the fall 2023 semester, and the average GPA is 3.50. Of the 397 enrolled, 64.4% are student-athletes. There are 35 domestic transfer students, and 7.05% of the class is made up of students from outside of Michigan.
Ben Dickieson (‘25), a sophomore from Dearborn, Michigan whose major is currently undecided, transferred to Alma College from the University of Michigan-Dearborn this year.
He chose to transfer to Alma because “UM-Dearborn wasn’t really somewhere… I wanted to stay long term… When I toured here I really liked it, and I think it’s [going to] be a good place for me to try to figure out what I want to major in,” said Dickieson.
To him, the transfer process “wasn’t that difficult. Basically, I just needed to transfer over my transcripts from high school and from my last year at U of M-Dearborn… and then I talked to an admissions counselor and they made it pretty easy,” said Dickieson.
Dickieson is also a student-athlete on campus, and he is a member of both the men’s cross country and track teams.
“No [I was not an athlete at UM-Dearborn], but I knew I really wanted to be on the track team after I’d made my decision [to come] here… because I did track in high school, and I really loved it. Coach Chov talked me into doing cross country as well because he says it’s a good way to meet people and get acclimated to life on campus a little faster,” said Dickieson.
“[As a student-athlete,] I’m busy but I’m not overwhelmed… I’ve been putting a lot more stuff in my calendar than I’ve ever had to, but it’s keeping me focused… It’s also fun being with friends on a team,” said Dickieson.
In addition to distinguished academics and athletics, Alma College harbors an increasingly diverse student population.
14.86% of this year’s class are minorities, and there are 36 international students. These students span the countries of Canada, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Ireland, Japan, Morocco, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.
“I think [having international students] brings a lot of different perspectives onto campus and it allows students from other countries to experience the United States… and it also gives the opportunity for students from Michigan to meet and interact and gain experiences from people from other countries,” said Hank Wickley, Associate Director of Admissions.
Alma College prides itself on being an institution that welcomes diversity, and the admissions team has made it clear that this is something they keep in mind when recruiting students.
“Some of the work we do in admissions is specifically to help students from diverse backgrounds to get to Alma. A lot of that is dependent on where the people in admissions are traveling to recruit students, and where our coaches are recruiting students overall… feeds into it,” said Wickley.
“Statistically, we are becoming more diverse as a college. People from all different walks of life are coming to Alma because it’s a welcoming place,” said Wickley.
Please note that the incoming class will not be finalized until Sep. 11, so these numbers are subject to change.
