When classes resume at the College of Charleston this week, there will be a lot of new faces on campus – nearly 350 of them. Each year as the spring semester begins in January, the student body at the College swells by several hundred as transfer students and a few new freshmen enroll. These students come from all over the country, and in some cases, from around the world. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at this new cohort of Cougars:
With almost 350 new students starting at the College this semester, there will be a lot of new faces on campus.
252 — That’s the number of students in this group that are from South Carolina. (There are 16 from New York, 14 from Maryland and 12 from New Jersey).
92 — Over 90 students in this incoming group have actually studied at the College before. In fact 92 of them are returning to the College after temporarily stepping away from higher education.
59 — Some 59 students are transferring to the College through the iCharleston program, which means they began their college careers last fall by studying abroad in either Dublin, London, or Kelowna, British Columbia. These students also come from all over, including someone from as close as Hilton Head Island, S.C. and an American student from as far as Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
200 — In round numbers, nearly 200 of the new students are males. (There are nearly 150 women as well.)
18 — That’s the number of students in this group who are either active military or have veteran status. Jessica McMahan, the College’s Veteran and Military Student Services Coordinator says that this is likely the largest group of military-affiliated students to enroll in many years.
17 — That’s the number of students in this group who already have one bachelor’s degree. Four of these individuals got their first bachelor’s degree from the College.
4 — That’s the number of international students in this group. Two of those are from Bermuda, and one each from Japan and China.
It’s interesting to note that the oldest student among this incoming group was born in 1968. The youngest was born in 1998. (The latter finished high school early in order attend the College.)
Jimmie Foster Jr., the College’s assistant vice president for admissions and financial aid, is enthusiastic about the incoming students. “We’re fortunate to have a very talented and creative group of new students enrolling this semester. They’ll complement our student body by adding their diversity of experiences both inside and outside the classroom. The College should be particularly impressed with how many of them have had international experiences.”
All of these students will be introduced to life at the College by way of two days of orientation sessions beginning this week.
