Meet Our Newest Royals!

Last week, the Bethel community welcomed hundreds of new undergraduate students to campus. Learn more about the Class of 2025, including who they are, where they’re from, and what they’re planning to study.

By Cherie Suonvieri '15, content specialist

September 01, 2021 | 2 p.m.

Meet Bethel's incoming class

Excitement reverberated throughout campus as the Bethel community welcomed 733 new Royals during Welcome Week 2021. Incoming students were greeted enthusiastically by Welcome Week staff, Bethel Student Government leaders, and other Bethel community members during move-in on August 25-26. Following new student arrival, the schedule featured a lakeside picnic and kickoff celebration, a commissioning service, an outdoor movie, service projects, Kononia, The Show, and a variety of other events to welcome new students into the community.

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Move-In Day | Welcome Week 2021

The incoming class includes 469 first-years, 41 transfers, 160 PSEO students, and 49 former PSEO students who loved their experience so much they decided to continue at Bethel. Fourteen new students joined the BUILD program, and 10 new Act Six scholars joined the Bethel community, becoming the university’s seventh cadre of the full-tuition, full-need scholarship program. All of these students join 1,717 returning students, to make up an estimated undergraduate student body of 2,450.

Our newest Royals are 57% female and 43% male. Around 14% are students of color. Legacy students (those who have a parent or sibling who also attended Bethel) make up 36% of the incoming class. And 29% of students plan to play on a Royals athletic team.

The average high school GPA of incoming students is 3.58, and the most popular majors include:

  1. Exploratory/Undecided
  2. Business
  3. Nursing
  4. Engineering
  5. Biokinetics
  6. Biology
  7. Education
  8. Psychology/Neuroscience
  9. Biochemistry
  10. Social Work

Incoming students represent 25 different states, the most popular after Minnesota being Wisconsin (37), Iowa (11), South Dakota (11), Illinois (9), Colorado (7), and Michigan (7).

The most popular first names include Emma (12), Anna (10), Grace (10), Andrew (8), Jacob (8), and Samuel (8). The most common last names are Johnson (18), Carlson (7), Olson (7), Nelson (6), Anderson (5), Peterson (5).

This view is just a snapshot. There are 733 new students, each unique in their own regard. To the Class of 2025: we can’t wait to get to know what makes you you—and we’re excited to journey with you as you continue becoming the person you were created to be.

Bethel's incoming class stats
Bethel students

We're always looking for more Royals.

At Bethel, students are more than just a number. They're known and valued by faculty, staff, and classmates alike. Do you know a student who would make a great addition to the Bethel community? Take a minute to tell us about them. 

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