Quick: what's the male-to-female ratio at AU? While you could go through your four years at AU without knowing the vital statistics of the university, your relatives are asking, so you might as well find out.
Aunt Mary may find it interesting, for instance, that freshmen starting AU this year hail from 42 states and the District, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 48 different countries. There are also 300 new transfer students and 28 Japanese students participating in the AU/Ritsumeikan Dual Degree Program.
Over 1,000 new students joined the AU student body this year, and taking into account all of the seniors and students who dropped out or transferred out of AU, the face of the university in constantly in flux. The Office of Admissions recently released a statistical breakdown of the new look of American University.
According to an August 24 letter to the campus community from Director of Undergraduate Admissions Marcelle Heerschap, the ratio of male to female students among the incoming freshmen is (take note, singles) two to three. Twenty-four percent have identified themselves as members of an ethnic group other than Caucasian, and seven percent are relatives of AU alumni. Twenty-two are National Merit finalists and seven are semi-finalists; two are National Achievement finalists.
Your kid sister trying to get into AU might want to know that the average high school grade point average of the new freshmen is 3.2 and the average SAT score is 1135. The average ACT score is 26. According to Heerschap, these numbers are higher than the averages of previous years.
The letter said there are approximately 280 first-year students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, 240 enrolled in the School of International Service, 220 in the School of Public Affairs, 120 enrolled in the Kogod College of Business Administration and 110 in the School of Communication.
The letter also said there were 300 new transfer students, all of whom have maintained grade point averages of at least 3.0 at their respective schools. Forty-seven percent of the transfer students are male and 34 percent identify themselves in ethnic groups other than Caucasian.
Transfer student school breakdowns are as follows: CAS, 35 percent; SOC, 14 percent; SIS, 15 percent; Kogod, 15 percent; and SPA, 21 percent.
According to Heerschap, many of the incoming freshmen participated in orientation programs before the start of classes, choosing from one of the four Summer Orientation and Registration (SOAR) programs. The Freshmen Service Experience program (FSE) also sent students to volunteer at various organizations in the D.C. area to get them acquainted with the area.
Heerschap said that the final statistics on the fall 1994 undergraduates will be available in mid-September after actual enrollment figures are known.
