Enrollment above 3,200 for the fourth consecutive year is helping to keep the Hope College campus a busy place.

Hope has enrolled 3,230 students this fall, the second-highest total in the college's history.

The enrollment follows a successful admissions year that saw the college pass its goal of 800 new students.  The total has campus housing at capacity and sees the academic program its busiest ever with the college's full-time-equivalent enrollment at a record high.

The high enrollment headcount follows a record enrollment last year of 3,238 students, a total that included the largest graduating class in the college's history.

The total includes 803 first-time students, the fourth-highest ever and the third year in a row that first-time student enrollment has topped 800.

With the enrollment headcount remaining high, the college's full-time-equivalent enrollment has climbed to a record level for the 13th consecutive year.  The "full-time-equivalent" figures are a synthesis of full-time and part-time enrollment, and help the college measure the demand on its resources.  Hope's total this year is 3,201.8, up from last year's record of 3,177.1.

The numbers make historic Graves Hall and its five classrooms a much-welcomed return to the roster of classroom buildings this fall after a year-long renovation.  The college has also added student housing - as it did last year - in response to both its high enrollment and strong student interest in living on campus, including leasing rental space nearby and adding two more homes to the variety of "cottages" that Hope owns in the neighborhood.

The student body consists of 1,286 men and 1,944 women from 42 states and 28 foreign countries.

The enrollment by class, with last year's class in parentheses, is: freshmen, 812 (830); sophomores, 820 (836); juniors, 753 (665); seniors, 768 (822); and special students, 77 (85).

Students transferring to Hope from other colleges and universities total 74, compared with 71 in 2008. There are 111 students in off-campus programs, compared to 95 last year.

The largest representation is from Michigan with 2,240 students.  States represented with 10 or more students include:  Illinois, 394; Indiana, 112; Ohio, 78; Minnesota, 51; California, 35; Wisconsin, 34; New York, 30; Colorado and Iowa, 21 each; New Jersey, 20; Florida, 17; Texas, 15; Pennsylvania, 13; and Maryland, 11.

Foreign countries represented in the student body include: Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nigeria, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, Uganda, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam and the West Bank.

Hope College was chartered in 1866 and is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA). The college offers courses in 87 majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.