WINGATE — Fueled by the Honors College, the marching band and one of the largest transfer classes in school history, Wingate University was expecting more than 1,000 new students as first-year move-in got underway bright and early Monday morning.
Final numbers won’t be available until next month, but University Admissions was estimating 870 freshmen and 150 new transfer students as the day started. Last year’s class of first-time students (freshmen and transfers) totaled 928.
The Honors College, entering its fourth year after being upgraded from the Honors Program, is seeing an expected 64 percent jump in first-year enrollment, from 41 new students last fall to 115 this semester. There will be more than 200 honors students in total on campus this fall.
Dr. Allison Kellar, director of the Honors College, says that the program’s growth strengthens the University’s academic profile and “demonstrates Wingate’s commitment to supporting academic inquiry, innovation, and mentorship.”
Honors College students earn renewable scholarships and are offered unique academic opportunities and funding for travel and professional development. There are now two halls dedicated to residential first-year honors students.
Overall enrollment, including about 800 graduate students, is expected to land around 3,500 this year. Among the undergraduate newcomers are about 600 from North Carolina and 39 who are planning to play in the marching band, which started in the fall of 2024.
Three new sports are kicking off during the 2024-25 academic year: men’s beach volleyball, women’s flag football and men’s rugby. Athletes playing fall sports moved onto campus earlier this month to begin training. Returning students move in tomorrow, and classes begin on Thursday.
Anesu Simango - Wingate University
Wingate is expected to welcome a record number of transfer students this year. Laney Hill, from nearby Ansonville, is transferring from South Piedmont Community College, where she received her associate degree. She’s planning to study nursing after receiving the Gateway to Wingate scholarship, which enables graduates from six local community colleges to attend Wingate for a highly discounted tuition rate.
“The Gateway to Wingate Scholarship was a big thing for us as a family,” says Laney’s mother, Leigh Hill. “She had originally thought about going to UNC Charlotte, but the price comparison after the Wingate scholarship was a big deciding point for us.”
Freshman Athena Cline is also planning to major in nursing. She said she got a warm and friendly vibe when she toured campus.
“Honestly, I chose it because I just loved the atmosphere of it,” Cline says. “It seems like a very welcoming place, and I feel like I’m really going to enjoy my time here and am going to have a lot of opportunities to do what I want to do in the future.”
Cline, from Kannapolis, says she was interested in the nursing programs at UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Wilmington but that Wingate’s small class sizes and personal attention won her over.
“I feel like it will be a really supportive group for me,” she says, “and I feel like they will push me past my limits.”
Ethan Seussmuth experienced the supportive atmosphere firsthand when he visited Wingate during a home swim meet. He had visited several other schools but was won over when he saw how much all the Wingate swimmers had each other’s backs.
“Everybody was up cheering and very positive,” says Seussmuth, a native of the Philadelphia area who will swim for the Bulldogs and plans to major in exercise science. “I was like, ‘This is an environment I want to be in.’”
Anesu Simango - Wingate University
Micah Walker checked in this morning after traveling from Mays Landing, New Jersey. Walker is transferring to Wingate from Holy Family University in Philadelphia, to be a thrower for the track team and to study exercise science.
Although her son has gone from being an hour down the road to being a nearly 10-hour drive away, Monique Walker couldn’t be happier with where he has landed.
“This is a beautiful area,” she says. “I love the community. This is a good place if he ever wants to settle down. He made a good choice.”
Fey Adesugba is even farther away from home, having gone to high school in the Houston suburbs after moving to the United States from Nigeria. She says she was admitted to 22 private universities but found Wingate to be the most affordable.
“Wingate gave me the best financial package,” says Adesugba, who plans to study public health and biology and hopes to attend medical school one day. “That was my top priority.”
