Enrollment rises in 2024

With an incoming class of 201 first years and 50 transfers, Goshen College’s enrollment jumped at the start of the 2024-25 school year. The school has roughly 25 percent more incoming students than it did last year, and roughly 6 percent more than the average of the last ten years.

The school’s total headcount is 847, an increase of 23 from the previous year. Much of this increase came from traditional undergraduate enrollment — the traditional undergraduate headcount is 718 students, up from 695 last year. Goshen has 62 more incoming undergraduate students than last year, with 251 new students.

The top intended majors for first-year students include nursing, business, sport management and biology.

Athletic recruitment this year was also higher than in the past — 97 of the 201 first-year students are student-athletes, up from 60 last year. An important part of this growth was the addition of men’s and women’s bowling teams. Dr. Stephen J. Wolma, vice president for enrollment management, said he was “extremely pleased with the efforts of our coaches. They really worked hard at it, and they adapted.”

Retention, a key measure of student satisfaction, also contributed to strong enrollment overall. Eighty percent of first-year students returned this fall, including 82 percent of Black or African American students and 88 percent of international students.

“An education at Goshen College can provide a more conscientious, examined approach to life — and that’s something that our students and their families are understanding as valuable,” Wolma said.