St. Lawrence Welcomes Class of 2026
The Class of 2026 are leaders in and out of the classroom. They’re artists and performers, entrepreneurs, athletes, and advocates. Even before they matriculated on August 21, 2022, they set the bar high for future Laurentians. They came to St. Lawrence with a cumulative four-year GPA of 92.3—a record for an incoming class.
Thirty-eight percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their respective graduating high school classes, and 70 percent were in the top quarter.
“Academically, this is one of the strongest classes to ever enter St. Lawrence,” says Florence Hines, vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions and financial aid. “Over the next few years, with the help of Laurentians on campus and off—including members of our top-ranked alumni network—these students will identify the challenges they’re most eager to solve and leverage their unique liberal arts experience to become part of innovative solutions that make a positive impact on the world.”
In addition to the first-year class, transfer students from 16 colleges and nine states joined the St. Lawrence community on Sunday, bringing a strong academic performance and a collective grade-point average of 3.4 from their prior institutions.
Before stepping onto campus, several members of the incoming class began tackling some of their generation’s most pressing challenges in their own communities. At the time of his high school graduation in June, the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, New Hampshire presented its 2022 Environmental Leadership Award to Karel Wolterbeek ’26 for his demonstrated commitment to creating positive environmental change. At St. Lawrence, Karel plans to study environmental science and take advantage of opportunities to get involved in local community-supported agriculture initiatives.
As they carve out their paths and discern the issues they’re motivated to tackle, the newest members of the Laurentian community will also discover five new interdisciplinary majors and minors to explore, including data science, finance, public health, digital media and film, and biomedical sciences. In addition to the collaborative work and research they’ll do with their faculty mentors, the incoming class will have plenty of opportunities to embrace a diversity of perspectives and learn from one another’s unique strengths and experiences.
Members of the class come from 394 high schools across 32 states and Washington, D.C. Diversity—meaning those who identify as people of color or international students—is at 24 percent. Gender representation is 53 percent women, 46 percent men, and 1 percent non-binary. Sixteen percent of the class are considered first-generation students—students whose parents did not complete a four-year college or university degree—and nearly 17 percent have family ties that connect them to St. Lawrence, including siblings, parents, and grandparents. Eleven percent of students hail from the North Country.
“In and out of the classroom, this class has so many new adventures to look forward to. With the comprehensive support of our Center for Career Excellence, these adventures have the potential to turn into rewarding careers,” —Florence Hines, vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions and financial aid
Twelve percent of the class journeyed to St. Lawrence from 38 different countries around the globe, comprising the largest cohort of incoming international students to date. And though they’re separated by thousands of miles and an ocean, Hugh C. Williams Senior High School in Canton, New York and the United World College of East Africa have one particularly important thing in common—they top the list of high schools with the largest number of entering first-year students.
Outside of the classroom, the Class of 2026 will dig into their co-curricular interests alongside others who share their passions while participating in any combination of more than 150 student clubs and organizations on campus. Throughout high school, 75 percent of incoming students made a difference in their communities through service and fundraising efforts, while 87 percent held leadership roles. Seventy percent participated in academic clubs, research, and honorary societies. Forty percent were involved in art, music, and theater, and 49 percent in outdoor clubs and activities.
Eighty-nine percent of incoming students represented their high schools on the field, court, pitch, rink, track, ski slopes, or in the pool, and 37 percent will represent the scarlet and brown as they continue their athletic careers at St. Lawrence.
“In and out of the classroom, this class has so many new adventures to look forward to. With the comprehensive support of our Center for Career Excellence, these adventures—from faculty-mentored research in the Adirondacks to internships they pursue while studying abroad—have the potential to turn into rewarding careers,” says Hines. “Our transfer students and the Class of 2026 already bring so much to our community, and we’re all excited to learn from and alongside them over the next four years.”
