In August Wheaton welcomed 459 first-year students representing the Class of 2014 (3,600 applied). They’ve traveled the world, earned high honors in academics, sports and the arts, and demonstrated a range of leadership experience—all by the age of 18! For example: Ashley Pelzel achieved more than 800 hours of community service; Hammad Hassan spent four years reading the Koran in Arabic; Elizabeth Howe is a nationally ranked equestrian; Robert Fox builds longboard skateboards; Emily Baldwin worked with security clearance at the Sandia National Laboratory; and Alessandro Aquista blogs as a restaurant critic.

Freshman class at a glance:

Average grade point average: 3.45 on a 4.0 scale

Graduated in the top 25 percent of their class: 80 percent

Involved in service: 84 percent

States represented: 30

Countries represented: 26

Top six states:

Massachusetts

New York

Connecticut

Maine

New Hampshire

California

Family ties: 12 percent with alumnae/i relatives

Male: 33 percent

Female: 67 percent

Diversity: 23 percent identify as Asian, black, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander or multiracial