After becoming a Common Application exclusive institution in fall 2013, the George Washington University is continuing to evolve its undergraduate admissions application process.
With new essay prompts, alternative school options and the opportunity to apply to the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, the GW undergraduate admissions application gives prospective Colonials more flexibility than ever before.
“We hope that these changes will give us a more well-rounded picture of the students applying to GW, as well provide applicants with more choices,” said Director of Admissions Karen Felton. “We think we will be able to do an even better job admitting and enrolling students for whom GW is a great fit.”
In the past, prospective students were presented with a choice of essays for the general Common Application but only one option for the GW essay question. This year applicants will be asked to respond to one of the following questions as part of the GW application:
- Option 1: GW students have the opportunity to make history and to create real change—in the university, in the community and in the world. As a member of the GW class of 2019, how will you make your own history?
- Option 2: You are invited to dinner with George Washington during which you will have the opportunity to discuss any topic. What questions will you ask him, and what do you hope to learn?
- Option 3: We imagine you have spent a great deal of time researching different colleges and universities. How did you identify GW as a strong fit with your interests, talents and goals?
“We felt that the question from past years did not give applicants as much of an opportunity to reveal what was important to them,” Ms. Felton said. “Having the choice between three questions will give students the chance to express themselves in a way that they are comfortable with and that will allow them to show more of their personality.”
Prospective Colonials will apply to an undergraduate college or school at GW as their primary choice, and they will now also have the option of indicating an alternate choice. Previously, applicants could only apply to one of GW’s schools.
“Although some high school seniors are committed to one specific field, there is a group of extremely strong applicants who chose GW because of the breadth of our curricular offerings, not because they definitively want to study in a specific school,” said Ms. Felton.
Applications that include a primary and alternate college or school will be considered sequentially, first by the primary and then by the alternate choice. Students are not required to choose an alternative school or college.
Finally, one of the school options that is now part of the GW application is the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. Incorporating the Corcoran into the GW application required the university to adopt a Common Application module titled SlideRoom. In keeping with the admission requirements previously in place for Corcoran applicants, students who indicate the Corcoran School as their only choice will be required to submit a portfolio of 10 to 15 completed works of art and will not have to submit SAT or ACT scores. Students applying to the Corcoran who also indicate an alternate school or college will be required to submit standardized test scores as well as a portfolio.