The Indiana University School of Global and International Studies is welcoming its largest group of Direct Admit Scholars with the start of fall semester classes on Aug. 22, part of an historically-high achieving class of first-year students at IU.
Forty-six DA students are starting the fall semester, more than double last year’s entering class and one of the largest increases of direct admits of any IU program. While 60 percent of the students come from Indiana, the other students’ home states span the country, with two from overseas. Students are from as far away as California and Connecticut in the U.S., with a DA student from the United Arab Emirates and another from India.
Direct Admit Scholars are high-achieving students who begin study in their declared SGIS program starting with their first semester. These students have special programming opportunities and invitations to work closely with faculty and staff at SGIS. Direct admits also receive a scholarship covering overseas study. Students not entering SGIS directly upon admission can declare an SGIS major after taking 26 hours at IU meeting certain requirements.
The SGIS direct admits are among the top of IU’s overall entering class, a group of first-year students that is record setting for its academic achievement. More than half of the SGIS DA’s are either part of the Hutton Honors College or Hudson Holland Scholars. Hutton Honors College students are offered entry if they are in the top 5 percent of their high school graduating class and score highly on the ACT or SAT. The Hudson and Holland Scholars Program serves high-achieving students who are first-generation college students or from underrepresented groups.
The new SGIS Direct Admit Scholars were welcomed formally to campus on Friday, Aug. 19th at their fall orientation. The students got a chance to meet IU staff, with special presentations from SGIS academic advisors, Career Services, and the IU Overseas Study office. Dean Lee Feinstein welcomed the group, noting their outstanding academic credentials. He also reminded them that they are beginning their college career on a campus that encourages dialogue, something crucial for studying the world’s toughest problems. “Embrace your ideals,” Feinstein told them. “But remain very open to hearing other people.”
Overall, this class of IU Bloomington first-year students have the highest grade-point average and the highest average SAT/ACT scores on record. The median GPA of all entering students is 3.79 and the SAT/ACT average is 1223. The group of students includes the most Indiana resident first-year students than enrolled at any other four-year college or university. The number of students from underrepresented groups at IU Bloomington is 1, 184, marking a 38 percent increase since 2011.
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