Augustana welcomes Class of 2028

Augustana College emerges from a very rocky federal financial aid season to welcome a robust and diverse Class of 2028. The school will welcome new and transfer students from 26 states and 33 countries when it starts its 164th year on Sept. 3.

Augustana's Class of 2028 was selected from across the globe from an unprecedented 9,000+ applications, surpassing last year's record of 8,200 applications. New students include 677 first-year students and 80 transfer students. This large transfer cohort includes 30 students from Black Hawk College.

The Class of 2028 includes 171 international students, making up an unprecedented 25% of the first-year cohort. Top represented countries include Ethiopia, Morocco, Nepal, Vietnam and Pakistan.

Forty-two percent of newly enrolled students, 214 in total, are Pell Grant recipients. The federal grant is awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. In the 2022-2023 award year, the maximum Pell grant was $6,895.

Students began moving to campus as early as mid-August, including members of the football team and participants in the PACE Multicultural Mentorship Program. The majority of students will move to campus Aug. 30, the same day the college will hold opening convocation on Viking Plaza and Welcome Week activities begin.

Executive Vice President Kent Barnds said members of the Class of 2028 stand out for their academics, their diversity and the challenges they encountered through the disastrous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which impacted thousands of families. Like many other colleges, Augustana extended its enrollment deadline to June 1 and made other accommodations.

"Augustana's Admissions staff worked incredibly hard to help families navigate these unprecedented challenges and continues to help students through this process," said Barnds. "It's a testament to Augustana's commitment to prioritizing students and their success."

Part of this student-ready approach included more than 570 pre-enrollment meetings conducted by Augustana's offices of Admissions and International Admissions to assist new students with completing their enrollment checklist and answer questions about the enrollment process.

"The new enrollment meetings stem directly from the college's strategic plan, Bold & Boundless, which includes a focus on identifying and meeting the needs of students to help them achieve their life and career goals," Barnds said. 

Continuing this focus on customized support, the college announced in May the launch of Success Teams. Beginning this fall, every student will be paired with a multi-pronged team of experienced professionals and mentors who will work together from the moment students arrive on campus to their graduation day and beyond. 

Another boost for students is an increase in Augustana-based financial aid. The innovative Augustana Possible grant program meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for high-achieving students new to the college. Also, contributions to the Augustana Fund are now exclusively used to support student financial aid and scholarships. 

"We know an Augustana education is transformative, and we're committed to supporting students to reach success in the classroom and beyond," said Barnds.

This is the second year Augustana has awarded Augustana Possible awards, which will be funded over the course of a number of years by an $80 million increase to the college's endowment, with funds coming from a commitment from Murry Gerber '75 and a dollar-for-dollar matching gift challenge. The college awarded 159 awards to new students this year, and 183 students received the grants in fall 2023.