BY: Jon Stroshine, News Co-Editor
Published: Aug. 24, 2012
Like many incoming freshmen, Caleb Wachsmuth is nervous about moving up from high school to college and leaving home behind. Starting Friday, 517 potential friends join him. "I'm really excited," Wachsmuth said. "I just can't wait to meet new people, learn new things, and have a good time." Much of the class of 2016 moves into the dorms Aug. 24 as Taylor continues welcoming the largest incoming freshman class in its history to campus. Wachsmuth has been at Taylor almost two weeks for football practice. Many athletes arrived on campus early for team camps or practices. "They seem really confident to me," freshman Football Manager Wynn Coggin said of the freshmen he has met. "They're outgoing and nice, but they're very confident." The new class includes 230 men and 288 women and represents 31 states and 21 countries, according to Taylor's Admissions Office. Such strong enrollment numbers are unusual for a Christian college in the middle of tough financial times, said Dean of Student Development Skip Trudeau. "I think it has a lot to do with mission focus," Trudeau said. "Taylor University has historically stayed pretty true to the core principles for which we were founded and pursue, and I think . . . devotion to that mission has set us apart." The largest number of freshmen (138) will be in the School of Natural and Applied Science, followed closely by 137 in the School of Liberal Arts. Trudeau thinks the glut of students studying Science is related to the opening of the Euler Science Complex. "It's a great facility," Trudeau said. "It's gonna unlock some things for us where we had some artificial caps put on programs because of space and size." The School of Professional and Graduate studies (109), School of Business (54), and undeclared (87) complete the top five school choices. Academic credentials of the class include an average ACT score of 27, an average SAT score of 1158 (on the math and English portions) and more than 200 students with a 4.0 GPA, according to the Admissions Office. "Taylor is known for bringing premier students here," said Cathy Weatherspoon, Director of Leadership Programs and Welcome Weekend. "What makes the difference is just we're growing as a campus in our attitudes and our faith in God." The new group has the highest number of American ethnic students in the history of Taylor at 47 students, or nine percent, according to Taylor admissions department data. Fifteen international students, along with missionary kids, account for the 21 countries represented in the class. Twelve percent of these students are ethnic. "It's been a driving goal for the 14 years I've been at Taylor to become more diverse," Trudeau said. "Some of those initiatives are starting to pay off." While many students are coming from other countries, the class of 2016 also has strong Indiana roots. Thirty- seven percent of the new class comes from the Hoosier state, a result of a push by admissions to recruit more students from Indiana. "It is our state," said Director of Admissions Amy Barnett. "We did just want to work at being known in our own state."
