For the second year in a row, Bethel College enrollment has jumped by more than nine percent. In fact, it is up nearly 10 percent from fall 2010 to fall 2011.
Bethel’s overall enrollment for fall 2011 is 523, compared to 476 last year, for an increase of 9.9 percent. One hundred twenty-six new students on campus this fall are first-time freshmen and 77 are transfers.
The fall 2010 to fall 2011 retention rate for first-time freshmen is 77.2 percent, two points higher than last year and well above the national average of 66.6 percent for peer colleges.