For the second year in a row, Hope is heading toward a record number of first-time students.

          Hope may have as many as 750 first-time students
  this year, according to Gary Camp, director of admissions.
  The previous record was 723, set in the fall of 1997.
          The new freshman class is strong academically--
  similar in that respect, Camp said, to its predecessors.
  The average grade point average for the new students is 3.64
  on a 4.0 scale, and on average the students rank in the top
  20 percent of their graduating classes.  The middle 50
  percent of the new students have ACT scores in the 22-28
  range, and SAT scores in the 1,100-1,310 range.
          Even with a record number of first-time students,
  Hope's full-time enrollment will remain within the cap of
  3,000 full-time equivalency set by the college some years
  ago, Camp noted.
          The new students and their returning peers will
  meet a campus subtly changed.  Summer projects have included
  renovation of the Kletz in the DeWitt Center and the
  relocation of three offices.
          In the Kletz, booths are being installed in the
  area "under the glass," which has also been made more open
  to the main seating area; the ceiling in the main area has
  been raised and given special lighting to create a "skylight
  effect"; and the tables and chairs are being replaced.
          The Financial Aid Office has moved from the main
  floor of the DeWitt Center to the Sligh building, located at
  174 E. 11th St. (between Columbia Avenue and the railroad
  tracks).
          The Counseling Center has moved from the Sligh
  building to the office suite formerly occupied by Financial
  Aid, located on the main floor of the DeWitt Center near
  Student Development and the Registrar's Office.  The Office
  of Career Services has moved from the Sligh building to the
  100 E. Eighth St. building.
          In addition, the option of having cable television
  installed is being extended to all college residence hall
  rooms, cottages and apartments.
          Hope's new academic year will open formally on
  Sunday, Aug. 30, at 2 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel with
  an opening convocation.  Maura Reynolds, who is an assistant
  professor of Latin and director of academic advising, will
  present the address, titled "Amo, Amas:  Love, Learning, and
  the Life of the Mind."
          The public is invited to the convocation.
  Admission is free.
          Residence halls for Hope's new students will open
  on Friday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m.  Orientation events will
  begin that evening and will continue through Monday, Aug.
  31.
          Returning students begin arriving at noon on
  Sunday, Aug. 30.  Classes will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at
  8 a.m.
          Reynolds joined the college in 1974 as director of
  the Academic Support Center, a position she held for four
  years, also teaching introductory expository writing.  She
  began teaching Latin at the college in 1980.
          She was appointed director of advising in 1988.
  Since 1996, she has also served as coordinator for pilot
  sections of Hope's new "First-Year Seminar" program.
          Reynolds has helped plan and implement New Student
  Orientation at Hope since 1987.  Since 1989, she has been a
  member of the staff of the college's Teaching Enhancement
  Workshop, which is geared toward faculty members about to
  begin their first year at Hope.
          She has made several presentations at professional
  conferences, discussing advising and teaching, including
  during multiple years at the National Academic Advising
  Association National Conference and the American Classical
  League Conference.
          Reynolds holds bachelor's and master's degrees in
  Latin from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  Prior to coming to Hope, she had taught Latin at West Ottawa
  High School and at Thornton Township High School in Harvey,
  Ill.