A record number of Washington state high school graduates applied to the University of Washington in 1998, says UW Registrar W.W. “Tim” Washburn, but there are fewer slots than last year for new freshmen.
As of July, 8,426 residents applied, compared to 7,634 resident applications for last year’s freshman class. This was a 10.4 percent increase, while population growth in the collegebound age group was 6.4 percent, says Washburn. “This shows that the University of Washington was more appealing to high school students than it was even a year ago,” he notes.
At the same time, the size of the UW freshman class shrank. The target this year is 4,200 new freshmen, while last year’s class held 4,505—a record.
For 1998, non-resident applications dropped slightly, from 5,552 in 1997 to 4,895. The UW also saw a large drop in international student applications, due mostly to the Asian economic crisis.
The main campus total enrollment for fall 1998 should be around 35,500, close to last year’s number.
With fewer openings and a flood of applicants, the UW sent more denials to potential students—about 3,900 letters, Washburn estimates. “This is the most stressful part of the job,” he says. “Our staff felt it was the most difficult year we have faced. The students and parents just did not want to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Last fall, the entering freshman class had an average high school G.P.A. of 3.6 and an average SAT score of 1148. While similar numbers for this year’s class won’t come out until the beginning of Fall Quarter, Washburn expects that they will be higher.
“We had to be more selective. You could say this was a wake-up call for many families and high school counselors across the state,” he says. “The competition is only going to increase.”
While students are clamoring to get in, thousands are also getting out. The UW announced that 9,116 degrees were awarded in the 1997-98 school year.
The June commencement ceremony was the first time in UW history that degrees were awarded in Husky Stadium. About 30,000 attended the celebration under partly cloudy skies. Officials are planning for another ceremony in Husky Stadium next year, on Saturday, June 12, 1999.
Students wishing extra commencement programs should write to the Office of Public Exercises, University of Washington, Box 355833, Seattle, WA 98195-5833. Also, videotapes of the 1998 ceremonies are available through the University Book Store, 1-800-335-7323, or the DawgHouse, 1-800-775-3294.
Last June also saw ceremonies for UW Tacoma and UW Bothell. Tacoma graduated 400 students; Bothell had 396 graduating seniors.