By Sharron Hannon
shannon@uga.edu
For 22 incoming freshmen, the decision to attend the University of Georgia is a particularly rewarding one--both academically and financially.
The students--from Georgia and six other states--are recipients of UGA’s prestigious Foundation Fellowship, created to provide an enhanced educational experience for academically outstanding undergraduate students. In addition to covering all costs for four years of study, it includes all-expense-paid international travel-study experiences.
What’s more, each student is paired with a senior faculty mentor and an upperclass Foundation Fellow for support and guidance. In the course of the academic year, they’ll take part in dinner seminars in professors’ homes, breakfast meetings with visiting campus lecturers, and a variety of other academic enrichment opportunities.
Because the Fellowship is a coveted honor, the selection process is highly competitive, with a record number of applications submitted this year. The average SAT of the incoming Fellows class is 1512. Fifteen of the 22 had perfect 800 scores on either the verbal or math portions of the test. Their average high school grade point average is 4.10 (on a 4.0 scale), which indicates extra points for advanced placement classes. The list of their high school activities and honors is just as
impressive.
“I am delighted with the quality of this class for the university’s premier scholarship program,” says UGA President Michael F. Adams. “Not only are these students outstanding scholars, but they will be the future leaders on this campus and beyond. I look forward to their arrival on campus this fall.”
The students offered fellowships were selected from 60 finalists who visited campus in February for an intensive interview weekend, where they participated in faculty-led seminars, spent time with current Fellows, then underwent a round of interviews with senior faculty, foundation trustees, and admissions and student affairs staff.
“These students bring very strong academic credentials and a variety of talents to the fellowship and to the university,” says Jere Morehead, professor of legal studies, who serves as associate provost and director of both the Honors and Foundation Fellows programs at UGA. “They had a lot of options open to them, so we’re extremely pleased they chose the University of Georgia.” |
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