Georgia College evolves through a decade of changes

Georgia College has seen radical changes over the last 10 years.

Since 2001, there has been an increase in the student population. In Fall 2001, 5,047 students were enrolled, whereas today the university has around 6,633 students, according to the Office of Institutional Research. This is about a 31 percent increase in enrollment.

“With changes in the students becoming more competitive, we’re getting students who are really involved and care about the life of the university.” said President Dorothy Leland.

According to Leland, this has to do with a ‘holistic admission process,’ in which the university looks at more than just numbers and scores when accepting students.

This past year, Georgia College had 4,089 incoming freshmen apply and 1,204 were accepted and enrolled, according to GACollege411.

Of the incoming freshmen, the average high school grade point average was a 3.36 and the average SAT score was 1669, 160 points above the 1509 national average.

“Approximately 92 percent of entering freshmen who are from Georgia are HOPE scholars with SAT scores significantly higher than that national average,” according to Georgia College records as of Fall 2009.

“My sister went to Georgia College and it’s low-key, it’s also the third best school in Georgia and it was a good size for me,” said junior marketing major Drew Meyer.

Ten years ago, Georgia College was far less well known than it is today. It is still expanding and progressing towards a bright future, ever-changing and improving. Georgia College had just become a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges in 2001, making it the only one thus far in Georgia.

“Georgia College is a small version of Athens and I liked that,” freshman political science major Michael Caplan said.

Another thing that works in Georgia College’s favor in attracting new students and retaining the old is the fact that money is being spent to improve University Housing options.

According to Georgia College’s website, Georgia College has invested almost $120 million into student housing since 2002.

“In the past ten years, we have more than doubled our on-campus occupancy and provided our students some of the best housing facilities in the state,” said Cindy McClanahan, interim associate director of student development and marketing coordinator for University Housing. “We made this investment because we know that a significant portion of learning outside the classroom occurs in the Residence Halls and apartments. Living on campus is a crucial part of a Georgia College education.”

Due to these expenditures, University Housing is able to offer a place for students to live that is close to campus and the downtown area.

Even Admissions Assistant, Linda Blair said the draw to Georgia College is that “everything is walking distance. It’s small, but not tiny; it’s compact, you can get around to everywhere.”

When Georgia College’s Loan Clerk, GeGee Guy, attended Georgia College as a freshman in 2001, her tuition for 13 hours was $1,266. If she were a freshman entering this year, her tuition would be $3,142 — about two and a half times more expensive.

Today, the college is about 40 percent male and 59 percent female, according to GACollege411. This is similar to the 2001 trend and can also be seen in the overall percentages of men versus women attending colleges across the country.

Junior nursing major Katherine Allen is one of many students that chose Georgia College because of a specific program offered at the university.

“I heard that the nursing program was one of the best in the public schools in Georgia and that’s what made me choose Georgia College,” Allen said.

Another increasing trend at Georgia College is the Greek community. Currently, there are 10 groups, five male and five female. The newest chapters that have been added since 2001 include: Kappa Delta, Delta Sigma Phi, Zeta Tau Alpha and Theta Chi.

There are many positives that have continued to draw students to Georgia College; the tight-knit, small-town atmosphere, the top quality educational opportunities—which itself has even improved over time, with more majors and fields of concentrations now being offered. Perhaps most importantly Georgia College has continued to allow students to personally and professionally grow and prosper, to help them make focused career goals and dreams a reality.

Posted by VictoriaGarofolo on Mar 3 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.