A federal investigation into the college admissions bribery and fraud scheme has so far netted dozens of people, including parents charged with trying to buy their children’s way into elite universities and athletic coaches who accepted bribes to designate applicants as their recruits to strengthen their applications.
The George Washington University is not named in the investigation. Laurie Koehler, senior vice provost for enrollment and the student experience, recently discussed GW’s undergraduate admissions practices and how the university verifies applicants’ credentials and works to safeguard against the wrongdoing seen in this case.
Q: What is GW doing in the wake of this news?
A: The university is confident that it has and will continue to operate a fair undergraduate admissions process that ensures only applicants who meet GW’s high standards are admitted. Any GW staff who are involved in admissions decisions understand the critical ethical and legal obligations they must uphold. We plan to create guiding principles to further solidify these expectations. Additionally, the university has reviewed the list of individuals accused in the investigation and to the best of our knowledge we have not found any GW affiliations.
Q: This investigation revealed issues at other universities around standardized test fraud and falsified athletic talent. What does GW do to protect against these?
A: First, it is important to know that the university conducts an exhaustive, holistic review of every applicant, and several staff members review each application file before making an admission decision.
GW has been test optional since 2015; however, when applicants submit standardized test scores, the university requires official scores certified by the testing agency. We will work with our national higher education admissions organizations to contribute to discussions about any necessary changes to standardized testing protocol. At the same time, I want to stress that no individual factor—even a perfect test score—ever guarantees admission to GW. In addition, admissions staff scrutinize irregularities in applications, such as large increases in scores between tests or a significant difference between an applicant’s grades and standardized test score.
All student-athletes must meet the same rigorous admissions standards as any other applicant—including application reviews by multiple staff members—and recruits are never guaranteed admission. The Athletics Department also operates a robust compliance office that verifies newly admitted students’ participation in their sports. We plan to implement additional verifications during students-athletes’ first year to add even more redundancy to this process.
Q: Does GW have separate standards for applicants whose family members previously attended GW or for children of university donors?
A: No, all admitted students must meet GW’s admissions standards.
Q: Do you anticipate more conversation about the college admissions process and the issues raised in this investigation?
A: Yes. This case provides a meaningful opportunity to engage in a conversation—not just at GW but also with universities across the country—about the unhealthy pressure that students feel around the college admission process as well as look at our practices to see how we might help to further minimize that. We also need to continue to talk about wealth and the advantages it gives some students over others. Our test-optional policy and holistic review of applicants have helped equalize the playing field, but we welcome more discussion about what more we can do to expand access and success for all students.
We will continue to regularly review our admissions policies and practices and implement any new procedures that support an equitable process for all.
