Meet Bethel’s Incoming Class

Our newest Royals enter the Bethel community during a unique season—but even in the midst of a pandemic, Welcome Week 2020 showed no shortage of enthusiasm. Like years past, incoming students were warmly greeted on their move-in day by dozens of Welcome Week staff. New student move-in took place August 24-28, and the weekend featured a live streamed kickoff event, campus tours, an adapted Koinonia service, Movie on the Lawn, and a variety of other events. Community members wore face coverings, practiced social distancing, and welcomed more than 700 students into the Bethel family.

This year’s incoming class includes 53 transfer and 144 PSEO students. There are 47 former PSEO students who loved their experience so much they decided to continue at Bethel. We welcomed 12 students to the BUILD program and 10 Act Six scholars, who make up Bethel’s sixth cadre of a full-tuition, full-need scholarship program for emerging urban leaders. All of these students join 1,650 returning students for an estimated undergraduate student body of 2,362. 

Our newest Royals are 59% female and 41% male. Almost 15% are students of color. Around 16% have a parent or sibling who also attended Bethel, and just over 27% plan to play on a Royals athletic team. The average GPA is 3.58, and the most popular majors include:

1. Exploratory/Undecided (No worries! We’ll help you figure out what to study.)
2. Nursing
3. Business/Economics
4. Psychology/Neuroscience
5. Engineering
6. Biology
7. Biokinetics
8. Elementary Education K-6
9. Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
10. Computer Science

Incoming students represent 22 different states, the most popular after Minnesota being Wisconsin (35), Iowa (17), Illinois (12), South Dakota (10), and Colorado (10).

One student was a baby diaper model for Huggies. One qualified for a national trap shooting competition. One raises puppies for Guiding Eyes. One has been to the Minnesota State Fair every year of her life (except this year, sadly). One participated in a dance performance for Justin Timberlake and only has four toes on her left foot.

The most popular first names include Jacob (12), Sarah (11), Abigail (10), Samuel (10), Anna (10), and Andrew (10). The most common last names are Johnson (12), Nelson (8), Carlson (6), Larson (6), and Miller (5).

To the Class of 2024: Welcome to Bethel! We’re looking forward to learning and growing together this year and in the years to come. 

Become a Bethel Royal.

As a Bethel student, you’ll join a community of Christ-followers learning together what it means to live for something more. Visits are underway for the year, and the application for the 2021 incoming class is already open! What are you waiting for? 

Schedule a Visit