Description: Alma College, founded in 1886 by Presbyterians, is a selective, residential, private liberal arts college devoted to the teaching and education of undergraduate students.
Type: Coed, 4-year liberal arts and sciences.
Location: Alma, Michigan, one hour north of the state capital of Lansing, in the center of the Lower Peninsula.
Accreditation: The Higher Learning Commission, (800) 621-7440; Member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Academic Year: Alma students follow a 4-4-1 calendar. All students take courses during two 14-week semesters followed by a one-month intensive Spring Term. The Spring Term allows students the opportunity to cross geographic, cultural or disciplinary boundaries to pursue individual academic interests. This is also an ideal time for students to consider a variety of opportunities to study off campus, in the U.S. or abroad.
Degrees Awarded: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music.
Students: The College enrolls 1,417 undergraduate students from 27 states and 16 foreign countries.
Student/Faculty Ratio: The student/faculty ratio at Alma is 13 students for every one faculty member. There are no teaching assistants. The combination of the College’s low student/faculty ratio and overall enrollment means students are guaranteed an educational experience that is challenging and extremely personal.
Average Class Size: 19 students.
Freshman Profile:
Average ACT composite: 24
High school GPA: 3.51
Honor Societies: Alma College is among the 10 percent of all colleges and universities to hold membership in the nation’s oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors organizations, The Phi Beta Kappa Society. Alma is also one of only seven Michigan colleges and universities to hold membership in the Omicron Delta Kappa Society, the national leadership society that recognizes and encourages superior scholarship, leadership and exemplary character. The College also has 18 other national departmental honor societies.
Athletics: More than one-third of Alma students participate in intercollegiate athletics, joining the winning NCAA Division III tradition of the Alma College Scots. The College offers 11 men’s and 11 women’s varsity athletic programs. Women’s bowling, men’s wrestling, and women’s and men’s lacrosse begin varsity competition in 2011–2012.
Campus Size: 128 acres plus 200-acre ecological tract.
Placement Rate: Nearly 95 percent of all Alma College graduates report working in full-time positions or attending graduate school within six months of graduation. Over the past four years, Alma has had an average 82% placement rate in medical school (as compared to national average of 47%) and an average 86% placement rate in law school.
A Distinctive Scottish Heritage: In the 125 years since its founding, Alma College has stayed true to its roots by keeping its Scottish heritage alive. Today, Alma features a marching band clad in kilts, a Scottish dance troupe, a competitive pipe band and its own tartan. Each year, the College hosts the Alma Highland Festival and Games which feature traditional Scottish games and revelry.
Other Distinctions: Alma students can explore the environmental wonders of the Galapagos Islands, practice Spanish language skills and study Ecuadorian culture through Alma College’s partnership with Equatorialis University in Quito, Ecuador.
The Posey Global Leadership Scholarship provides opportunities for Alma students to travel anywhere in the world and complete a self-designed project. Alma students have completed projects in topics ranging from teaching to public policy, in places from the Philippines to South Africa.
The Alma College Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team has won 10 consecutive regional championships at the SIFE USA Regional Competition in Chicago. The competition awards the SIFE teams that are most effective in teaching the principles of market economics through outreach programs in their communities. Last year’s team presented 12 community-outreach projects, including teaching ethics and entrepreneurship skills to students at a juvenile detention center and creating a sustainable business plan for villagers in Uganda.
Spring Term at Alma is a one-month immersion into a single academic topic that offers learning experiences not typically available during the more traditional 15-week fall and winter terms. During Spring Term 2011, students explored the language and culture of Ecuador, observed economic developments and social change in China, studied Scottish nationalism in Scotland, attended morality plays in England, toured cultural sites in Peru, examined coral reef in Hawaii, and completed a 900-mile bicycle tour of Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.
