Parents Q&A: Westminster who?

During Family Weekend 2013, Westminster College President Dr. Barney Forsythe addressed parents and family members with an update about the College, plus a Q&A session. The following is one of a series of blog posts to address questions raised by parents.

Why have so many people never heard of Westminster?

We aren’t surprised when people ask this question. As a small, private, liberal arts college, we co-exist in an incredibly competitive higher education landscape with many other institutions, including for-profit universities that spend substantial amounts of money on mass advertising and large universities that often take center stage with their athletic programs and sheer size.

Westminster is a tight-knit, well-connected community – elite in our numbers of students and alumni. Our size enables us to provide engaged experiences, small class sizes and individualized attention – all hallmarks of the type of undergraduate education we offer, but does create challenges for us in awareness.

Over our more than 160 years of history, we have often been called a “hidden gem.” We are proud that more and more people today know Westminster’s reputation for excellence in education, and it is one of the College’s goals to keep raising awareness of our mission and the achievements of our students and alumni.

Now more than ever, we believe the type of education we provide – centered on developing leaders of character in a global community – is needed in today’s world. We educate students to do more – to discover their true potential to make a difference in their communities, in their professions, and in the world.

So we ask you to help share the word about Westminster. Tell your friends and neighbors, and encourage prospective students to attend Westminster.

Click here to refer a prospective student.