November 2008 Newsletter
FROM THE DEAN…
This fall we welcomed an entering class of 2,439 freshmen and 327 transfer students. The recruitment of this amazing class reflects the dedication and efforts of many from the GW community. I want to thank all of you who met with students individually and at many of our admissions receptions and college fairs.
With a sizeable number of applications (nearly 19,400 from freshmen and 1,800 from transfers) and an academically strong applicant pool, it was more challenging than ever for our office to make final decisions in order to enroll this new class. Our admitted students are outstanding in every way, as were many of those who were not offered admission, thus allowing us to admit only 37 percent of our freshman applicants compared to 40 percent just five years ago. Consequently, the talent of our entering class is reflective of this competitive pool.
By standard measures of academic talent, including test scores and academic performance in school, this year’s entering class reflects the level of excellence typical of recent years. For example, for freshmen the average SAT score is 1917 which has increased from 1906 from just two years ago when the new SAT was introduced. In addition, 67 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating high school class a significant increase of 58 percent from 5 years ago. Likewise, the entering transfer population reflects a high level of academic excellence and performance at the collegiate level.
The entering class is one of the most geographically and ethnically diverse classes in GW history. A record 7 percent are African-American, 11 percent Asian-American, and 8 percent Latino. Geographic diversity also remains strong. The class includes approximately 150 international students which is an increase of almost 50 percent from the previous freshman class. A total of 33 countries are represented in the Class of 2012. From the United States, nearly 17.5 percent are from New England, 40.8 percent from the Mid-Atlantic, 11.2 percent from the Western states, 14.8 percent from the South and South Central states, and 8 percent from North Central states. Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico will be represented in the new class. In addition, 6 percent are international students and 1.7 percent are Americans living abroad or from U.S. territories.
As we look forward to the coming year, many of you may wonder about how the current financial situation will affect the upcoming admission class. The current economic situation is definitely an area that has received much discussion not only in the Admissions Office but with senior University leadership as well. While we are concerned about what effect the economy will have on this year's admission, we are being proactive in regards to the situation. This year we increased our travel and communication with prospective students in order to answer questions from students and parents about GW and financial assistance. By doing so, we have seen an even more positive response from parents about our fixed-tuition program. Compared to other financial obligations (e.g., mortgage, stocks, retirement funds) that are constantly changing these days, they are pleased with our fixed-tuition plan because it provides them with security in knowing the tuition costs for the next few years. In addition to the letter from Dan Small, Executive Director of Financial Assistance, that was recently sent to current students (a copy which can be obtained at this link), I will be sending a similar letter to prospective students and families within the next week or so.
While the financial aid allocations for prospective students have not been set for the coming year, we do know that the University will commit more money for need-based assistance. Since we will continue to admit students without regards to financial need, we expect that we will have more students with demonstrated financial need and are poised to assist these students. We know that we will lose some students whose families are not willing to pay for a private education. However, for those families who want to send their student to a private university, our fixed-tuition plan and guaranteed grant program should make us more attractive than some of our competitors in this economy.
We proceed with optimism about the coming year. Fortunately GW is well received in the market place, and our reputation and educational value will benefit us for the future. Once again we thank you for your help as we continue to inform prospective families about all GW has to offer.
All the best,
Kathryn Napper
Executive Dean of Undergraduate Admissions
(BA’77, MPA’80, Ed.D. ’88)
In this issue:
AAP Member SpotlightSummer ConnectionAdmissions Travel SeasonAdmissions Assistants
