The face of the Class of 2025: Our new first-year students

Class of 20225 coin

The Ripon College community is growing. As of Aug. 27, we welcome a class of 250 first-year students and nine transfer students. This compares to the fall of 2020, which had 241 first-year students and 10 transfers.

Seventy-one percent of the incoming class come from Wisconsin. Seventy-four students represent 23 other states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

While COVID-19 restrictions have limited the number of students from foreign countries, Ethiopia and Myanmar are represented.

Other representative facts about this year’s first-year class:

  • 159 are recruited athletes.
  • Male/female ratio: 52%/48% (includes one non-binary student and one transgender student)
  • Ethnicity: 78% white, 11% Hispanic, 4% Black or African American, 7% other.
  • Number of legacies (another family member has attended or is attending Ripon): 21.
  • Average grade-point average: 3.42.
  • Those choosing to go test-optional for admission: 59%.
  • ACT average score (for those who wanted scores considered): 25.
  • First-Generation: 40% (100 students).
  • Smallest high school class size: 11.
  • Largest high school class size: 719.

The most common names among the class are Emily/Emilie, Isabelle/Isabella and Jacob.