Students awaiting word on their admissions status to UGA’s class of 2010 received news last week when final notices were sent by mail and also posted on a password-protected section of the admissions office Web site.
More than 15,800 applications-a record high-were received this year. Offers of admission were extended to just more than 8,600 students, with another 600 being placed on an unranked waiting list. UGA aims to enroll a class of 4,800 freshmen to meet board of regents targets for enrollment. That number is an increase of 200 over the class that entered last year.
“We are fortunate that so many prospective students are excited about the University of Georgia,” says Nancy McDuff, associate vice president for admissions and enrollment management. “But because of the volume of applicants and the high quality of the applicant pool, we’ve had to turn away some strong students. We are urging them to look at other options within the University System of Georgia.”
Admitted students come from 153 Georgia counties and 431 Georgia high schools. The number of African-American and Hispanic students offered admission has again risen. Offers were extended to more than 600 African Americans and close to 200 Hispanic students. More than 2,000 admitted students, representing about 24 percent of the total, identified themselves as non-Caucasian. UGA does not use race or ethnicity as a factor in admissions decisions.
For students in the middle 50 percent of admissions, high school grade point averages ranged from 3.65 to 4.02, while SAT scores ranged from 1180 to 1350 and ACT scores from 25 to 30. Most of those offered admission had taken the most rigorous curriculum in their school.
“The two most important factors in our admissions decisions continue to be grades in academic classes and the strength of the student’s course selection,” McDuff says.
That message was reinforced by admissions staff in a recent meeting with high school counselors.
“We’ve turned down some students with very high SATs because their GPAs indicated they weren’t applying their talents in the classroom,” David Graves, senior associate director of admissions, told the group. “Good test scores are not an end-all. We’re looking for students who have shown that they will seize opportunities to be contributors and leaders.”
Students are required to reserve their space in the class by May 1.