Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia is expecting more than 6,100 new undergraduate students this fall, including just over 4,700 new freshmen and close to 1,400 new transfer students.Another 1,000 new undergraduates-200 of them freshmen-are expected to enroll in January for the spring term, bringing the overall total of new students to 7,100, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
The size and composition of this year’s freshman class is similar to last year’s class, though more students self-identified as non-Caucasian.This year, 29 percent of incoming freshmen so identified, compared with 22 percent in 2009.
For the freshman class, the number of entering Hispanic students is now over 200-4.3 percent of the class, up from 3 percent in 2009.The number of African-American students remained stable at 7.6 percent of the class.
The entering freshmen once again have a strong grade point average of 3.83(the mid 50 percentile range is 3.68-4.0).The mean SAT nudged up one point to 1264 for the Critical Reading and Math section, while the mean on the Writing section dropped one point to 612. The combined average score held firm at 1876 out of 2400 points (which includes all three components of the test). The middle 50 percentile of the class scored between 1730-1970.For those students who took the ACT, the mean score this year was again 28, with a mid 50 percentile range of 26-31.
The 525 students expected to enroll in UGA’s nationally recognized Honors Program have an average GPA of 4.06 (with a mid 50 percentile range of 3.96-4.14) and SAT average of 1471 (mid 50 percentile range of 1440-1490 on the Critical Reading and Math components only). The mean score on the Writing component was 712, producing a 2183 average on the three parts combined.The ACT average is 33 (mid 50 percent range of 32-33).
As in previous years, the incoming class includes geographic diversity, with 200 freshmen coming from 51different countries.Just over 13 percent of the new class is from out of state, with Texas, North Carolina and Virginia sending the most students. In-state students represent more than 450Georgiahigh schools in 140counties.
“This year more than half of the incoming students classified as Georgia residents have social security numbers initially issued in another state,” said Nancy McDuff, associate vice president for admissions and enrollment management. “This shows the continued in-migration to Georgia from other parts of the country.”
The number of applications received for this year’s freshman class-more than 17,730-is one of the highest recorded at UGA, following several years ofrecord applications. Since 2003, applications for UGA’s freshman class have increased by more than 50 percent.
The rigor of students’ high school curriculum continues to be a key factor in admissions decisions. Some 95 percent of the enrolled students took College Board Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes while in high school.
Five percent of the incoming freshmen (222) were first or second in their graduating class and more than halfwere in the top 10 percent of their class. Several students had a perfect composite score on the SAT or ACT, while 134 had perfect scores on at least one of the components of the SAT. Nearly 10 percent of the students started college while still in high school through joint enrollment programs.
While many of the incoming students have not yet decided on a major, the most popular intended majors (listed alphabetically) are biology, biochemical and molecular biology, business, chemistry, international affairs, political science and psychology, reflecting a pattern similar to previous years.
Although legacy is not a factor in admissions decisions, almost 35 percent of the students have parents or siblings who attended UGA. Six percent of the incoming freshmen are the first in their family to attend college.
The new incoming transfer students have an earned college GPA of 3.4 on college work completed prior to enrolling at UGA.Similar to previous classes of transfer students, they are almost evenly divided between males and females.Twenty-two percent of transfer students self-identified as non-Caucasian and about 94 percent are Georgia residents.
