Westminster College continues to see increased enrollment for the third year in a row.
With classes beginning Wednesday, more than 200 new students joined the campus this year.
In 2019, 142 freshmen enrolled. This was the lowest amount since then, as the college has continued to grow.
Of this year's freshmen class, 20 percent earned a 4.0 GPA in high school, according to a Westminster news release. Around 60 percent of the freshmen class had a 3.5 or higher GPA in high school.
Westminster is continuing to see early success this semester as the Third Way -- a think tank based in Washington, D.C., --named the college one of the best in the nation for a couple of categories.
Third Way said the college was among the best in terms of economic mobility, as well as return on investment for students who are low-income or recipients of the Pell Grant.
Only one other four-year higher education university in Missouri ranked in the top 20 percent of economic mobility, with Logan University also sharing the distinction.
Westminster has previously ranked in the top 16 percent nationwide for graduate earnings and had an average of 98 percent placement in either graduate school or a job after graduation, according to a news release from the college.
Donald Lofe Jr., Westminster president and chief transformation officer, said the upward trend of enrollment and the result of the Third Way ranking is reflective of a degree from the college.
While freshman enrollment for the college is strong, the amount of transfer students is also noteworthy. The number of transfer students at Westminster has more than doubled since last year's fall semester.