Despite the challenges of the delayed rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in 2024, applicants to Bridgewater College persevered.
Bridgewater welcomed nearly 500 new students for the fall semester. The incoming students are among the first to take advantage of BC’s tuition transparency initiative, which reset the published undergraduate tuition price to $15,000 for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Included in the number of incoming students are 67 transfer students, the largest number of students to transfer to Bridgewater in one semester since 2012. Many of the transfer students are coming to Bridgewater from Blue Ridge Community College in nearby Weyers Cave.
“We are thrilled to welcome each one of our new and returning students to the Bridgewater campus this week,” Dr. Leslie Frere, vice president for student life and dean of students, said. “This is always an exciting time for us. Our priority is our students, the connections we make with them and the connections they make with each other. Welcoming new students into the Bridgewater family is a privilege and, honestly, a lot of fun.”
Bridgewater announced a year ago a commitment to transparency about college costs, changing its published undergraduate tuition price from $40,300 to $15,000 to better reflect the true cost of an education. In addition, 100 percent of incoming first-year, full-time students receive financial assistance.
“We are pleased that our efforts to align our published tuition price with the actual cost of providing a high-quality education resonated with so many students and their families,” Michael A. Post, vice president for enrollment management, said.
For fall 2024, Bridgewater is welcoming 484 new students, including first-year, transfer and graduate students. The new Eagles hail from 218 different high schools in 17 different states. While most of Bridgwater’s Class of 2028 are from Virginia (80 percent), Bridgewater is welcoming students from as far away as California, Connecticut and Georgia.
The top choice of majors for the new class are business administration, health and exercise science, engineering and psychology. Bridgewwater’s undergraduate major in engineering launched just one year ago, in response to student interest, and has already seen a large jump in interest from applicants and current students.
Other facts about Bridgewater College’s Class of 2028:
Note: Information is based on the best available data at the time of publication.
174 are student-athletes competing in the College’s 23 intercollegiate teams in the NCAA Division III
39 percent are first-generation students, meaning they are the first in their families to attend college
36 percent are Pell-eligible, awarded to students with exceptional financial need
14 percent are part of the College’s Flory Honors program, which requires a strong academic record
Bridgewater College was founded in 1880 as a private, four-year liberal arts college in the Central Shenandoah Valley. Bridgewater College is home to approximately 1,450 students pursuing more than 60 undergraduate majors and minors and four graduate programs housed within three distinct schools.
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Rebecca Barnabi
