UWG News Archive

Chancellor approves higher admissions standards

April 23, 2004

CARROLLTON, GA - Students who wish to attend the University of West Georgia for the Fall 2004 semester will have to meet increased admissions standards. A request by Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, UWG president, to strengthen the standards of academic rigor for applicants was approved by Dr. Thomas Meredith, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia.

Dr. Melanie McClellan, vice president for student services, stressed that the best predictor for success for UWG students is the Freshman Index. This formula is obtained by multiplying the high school academic GPA x 500 and then adding the total SAT score.

“Because the formula includes both high school grades and standardized tests, students who perform better on one measure than the other are able to demonstrate their academic ability,” McClellan explained.

The minimum Freshman Index is being raised from 1940 to 2050. Under the old admissions formula, a student who had a GPA of 2.2, an SAT Math score of 400 and an SAT Verbal score of 430 (for a total of 830), would have just made the cut at UWG. Under the new standards, if that student had the same GPA of 2.2, would need to raise his or her SAT score by 110 points, to be at least 940.

Since the Freshman Index is computed on the basis of grades and SAT score, the increased standard does not have to be met by increased SAT scores alone. The student could meet the new standards through some combination of a higher GPA and/or SAT score.

In addition, the minimum Math SAT score is being increased to 410 from 400. The minimum Verbal SAT score remains at 430.

Sethna explained that the increased standards were requested to help insure student success at the post-secondary level and to pave the way for more UWG students to engage in the highest level of academic achievement.

“The accent on academic excellence at this University has become increasingly clear over the past few years with measurable results,” Sethna pointed out. “In national academic competitions such as in honors research, debate and the awarding of national scholarships, many of our students compete successfully against students from nationally and internationally renowned universities.”

For example, for four out of the past six years UWG students have had more research papers accepted at the National Collegiate Honors Council annual meeting than any other University in America. UWG’s debate team has been the national champion in some debate competitions and in the final four in others.

“In the past few years, we have a Marshall Scholar, four Goldwater Scholars, and many other nationally-competitive scholarship awards,” Sethna pointed out. “We want to increase the percentage of our students who benefit from these traditions of excellence. And, we want every student who enters UWG to be well positioned to succeed in University life and in their professional lives after that. In these ways, the new admission standards are intended to enhance the academic experience for all our students.”

Sethna noted that University officials have been analyzing the data for a number of years and find that students who are admitted with a Math SAT less than 410 and a Freshman Index below 2050 do not fare well.

“Raising these minimums would increase significantly the probability of student success and that is what this University is about — Educational Excellence in a Personal Environment,” he said.

Providing the environment for success led to the change of undergraduate admissions application deadlines. For Fall 2004, all application documentation must be submitted by July 1. For Spring 2005, the deadline is December 6 and for Summer 2005, the deadline is May 16, 2005.

McClellan explained that the earlier deadlines allow for earlier decisions that benefit both the student and the University.

“Our Admissions staff is able to process applications and documents in a timely manner so that incoming students can be better served by Admissions, Financial Aid, the Registrar, Orientation, Residence Life and academic advisors,” she said.

Dr. Robert Johnson, director of Admissions, noted, that as a gesture of fairness to students who had already applied, applications for fall 2004 received prior to May 1 will be evaluated for acceptance based on the old standards. The increased standards will be effective for all applications received after May 1.

“The bottom line is that we want all West Georgia students to be successful in college,” McClellan said. “To help them succeed, we need to have in place the standards, such as a Freshman Index of 2050, which predict a successful college career.”

Those students who do not meet the new admission requirements will be directed to the Floyd-UWG Accelerated Transfer Program or to another two-year school of their choice where they will be able to get the kind of help needed to make the transition from high school to college.

High school students considering UWG can examine the Fall 2003 Freshman Profile for a look at the data for the average UWG freshman. The profile showed an average SAT total score of 1009, average SAT Verbal score of 509 and Math SAT score of 500; and an average high school grade point average of 2.98. With the new admission standards, these averages are very likely to increase significantly.

For more information concerning the change in admission standards, contact the Admissions Office at 770-836-6416 or visit the website at www.westga.edu.

-30-