Meet the Newest Class of Royals!

The incoming class of 2019 has never known a world without the Sept. 11 attacks. They grew up with iPods. Here are some fun facts about the era in which they grew up and what they add to our campus community.

By Monique Kleinhuizen ’08, GS’16, new media strategist

September 05, 2019 | 3 p.m.

Our newest class of Royals moved onto campus last week, and our community has already changed for the better because of them. Here’s what you should know about the Class of 2023 and the year they were born:

This year’s Royals are Gen Z-ers who grew up in a rapidly-changing world. The year many of them were born, 2001, brought on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the first iPod, and Wikipedia. It was the year the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after an 11-year renovation. Enron filed for bankruptcy and Dale Ernhardt died.

The top films? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Monsters, Inc., Shrek, and Ocean's Eleven. The most popular musicians included Janet Jackson, Destiny’s Child, Elton John, U2, Alicia Keys, Weezer, Radiohead, Aaliyah, and Creed. The top shows on TV—which didn’t have streaming yet, by the way—were ER, Friends, 7th Heaven, Buffy, Dawson’s Creek, That ‘70s Show, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Host Regis Philbin turned 70.

The average cost of a new house was $136,150
A gallon of gas cost $1.46
The average new car was $25,850
A postage stamp: 34 cents
A pound of bacon: $3.22
A dozen eggs cost 90 cents
Ground coffee cost $3.06 per pound
On that note, it was the year the Starbucks Card was introduced. There were about 4,700 Starbucks stores in the world then...one-sixth of today’s total!

Now the babies of 2001 are heading to college!

This year’s new Royals are 742 strong, including 85 transfers and 105 PSEO students. Sixty-one former PSEO students loved their experience so much they’re continuing at Bethel. There are 16 students in BUILD and 10 ActSix scholars, making up Cadre 5 of a full-tuition, full-need leadership and scholarship program that prepares and empowers emerging urban leaders. They join 1,640 returning students for an estimated undergraduate student body of 2,450.

The new students are 63% female and 37% male, and 182 (22%) have a parent or sibling who also attended Bethel. There’s even one fourth-generation Bethel student whose grandparents attended when Bethel was still located down Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. (Now, that’s what we call a legacy family!)

Their most popular majors are:

Exploratory/Undecided (Hey, it’s cool! We’ll help you figure out what to study.)
Nursing
Business/Economics
Biology
Physics/Engineering
Biokinetics
Elementary Education
Chemistry/Biochemistry
Psychology/Neuroscience
Social Work and Computer Science (It’s a tie.)

Almost 18% are students of color, and there are new students from Nigeria and Canada as well as 26 states. The most popular states, other than Minnesota, are Wisconsin (38 students), Iowa (17), Illinois (12), South Dakota (11), and Colorado (11). Their average GPA is 3.55, with an average ACT of 24.35. About 30% plan to play on a Royals athletic team.

One student has been to Disney World 11 times. One was attacked by flamingos at Sea World when she was 7 (we’re guessing she hasn’t been back). One has done a 60-mile backpacking trip through the Rockies. One has a pilot’s license, and one is training to be a professional wrestler with the WWE. One was adopted from Moscow, Russia.

Become a Bethel Royal

Want to make Bethel part of your story? 3,338 prospective students visited campus last school year. Of the 2,487 that applied to Bethel, 1,743 were admitted and about half of those made a deposit and became #FutureBethelRoyals. Visits are underway for the year, and the application for the 2020 incoming class is already open! What are you waiting for?

Schedule a Visit