March 2009 Newsletter
FROM THE DEAN…
What a great time to be in DC and at GW! Inauguration frenzy has been everywhere—from parades and viewing stands to ‘official’ balls and concerts on the mall. As you well remember—GW students have the best vantage point to be a part of all these history making events. In addition to our GW inaugural ball, GW students were awarded the honor to have a float in the inaugural parade. Perhaps you were able to see on television our George Washington mascot saluting and being saluted by the nation’s new President. We even invited a newly admitted early decision student from California to ride on the float—a symbol to encourage the new class of 2013 to continue this new tradition.
As you know it is also a great time to be at GW and a part of the admissions process because this is the time of reading applications and getting to know—at least on paper—the new freshman class and the future alumni of the University. The application deadline has recently passed, and I am pleased to let you know that we have received as many applications this year as we did for last fall. We did, however, experience an increase in students applying through the early decision process. Given the current economic climate, we are extremely pleased to see so many more students selecting GW as their first choice school. This year we will have over 925 students (an increase of 150 students) or 38% of the freshman class entering GW through one of our early decision options. So far in the class we have represented 41 states—including Wyoming which is one of the two states not in last year’s class—DC, Puerto Rico, and 14 countries.
Since we have a stable applicant pool, applications are stable throughout much of the country. Increases to note include California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington. Decreases, while slight, include Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. The top five states for GW—California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—now constitute nearly 43% of the applicant pool. Of particular note is a 12% increase this year in applications from California which now ties with New Jersey as the second largest state in sending us freshman applicants.
It is a great time to be a member of the admissions office as we have the privilege and pleasure of meeting and working with you as we recruit the new entering class. On behalf of the office, I want to thank all of you who met with students, attended college programs, and interviewed applicants this past fall. As we begin to turn our recruitment focus to next year’s freshman class, we look forward to seeing many of you at the 23 junior receptions that we will be hosting this March and April. For a list of these receptions, please visit
http://gwired.gwu.edu/adm/reception.
Have a great spring!
Kathryn Napper
Executive Dean of Undergraduate Admissions
(BA’77, MPA’80, Ed.D. ’88)
In this issue:
AAP Member SpotlightSpring ReceptionsInaugural CeremoniesThe Guide to Personal Success ProgramMeet the New VIP CoordinatorStudent-Alumni Connections
