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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Saint Mary's welcomes 406 students to class of 2022

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Dominique DeMoe | The Observer
Dominique DeMoe | The Observer


In the fall semester of 2018, the circle will open once again as Saint Mary’s welcomes an incoming first-year class of 406 students. These newest Belles were chosen from a record number of 1,861 applications.  

The Saint Mary’s Office of Admission has seen a 12 percent increase in enrollment for the class of 2022 compared to last year, director of admission Sarah Gallagher Dvorak said in an email. The number of early decision applicants nearly doubled from the class of 2017, and approximately 86 percent of these students were accepted. Gallagher Dvorak said the class of 2022 is an academically talented group, with an average GPA over 3.7.

“We are incredibly excited about the energy surrounding this class,” she said, “Saint Mary’s is an academically challenging institution. It is our goal to ensure that students are growing and developing in a broad cross-section of academic areas. Because of this, our first concern is that all students demonstrate an academic background that will prepare them well for the classroom.”

Saint Mary’s will host a variety of skilled students, including a playwright and producer, a nationally competitive figure skater, a National qualifier in Irish Dance, an author, a contestant on the PBS Kids Show “Making the Grade,” as well as a large number of athletes, team captains and student body presidents.  The incoming class is also noted for its philanthropy and passion for service work.

“We look for students who already exemplify the core values that make our College special: a passion and calling for serving others, leadership skills and a diversity of interests and variety of life experiences and backgrounds,” Gallagher Dvorak said.

The College continues to see growth in diversity, Gallagher Dvorak said. The class of 2022 represents 35 states and 3 countries while approximately 22 percent of its members are students of color.

“[Saint Mary’s is] proud of the work we’ve done to attract such a diverse group of students and plan to continue to build upon it in the coming year,” she said.  “We believe that diversity in cultures, backgrounds, experiences and thoughts enrich the educational and co-educational experiences of our students at Saint Mary’s. Through increased diversity, we see greater rigor in the classroom and intangible assets such as richer discussions, a more thoughtful debate of ideas and greater personal and intellectual growth of our students.”

About 26 percent of the incoming class hold familial alumna connections.

Dvorak said the new students will help contribute to and enrich Saint Mary's campus culture.

“They will learn from one another and help to expand the world views of their fellow Belles as they interact both in and out of the classroom,” she said. “We’re excited to watch them make this transition to successful and well-adjusted college students at Saint Mary’s.”