The University of Georgia begins its fall semester Wednesday with more than 6,200 first-year students on its campus. By several measures, they’re very smart.

The state’s flagship university released data Tuesday showing its incoming class had an average high school grade-point average of 4.17. The average SAT score was 1356, which was about 300 points higher the national average. The average ACT score was 31, which was 10 points above the statewide average.

Many of these students were at the top of their class. UGA reported 215 of its new students were their high school’s valedictorian or salutatorian.

It’s become increasingly difficult to become a Georgia Bulldog. UGA received a record 47,860 applications from prospective students for this school year. The acceptance rate was just 33%, which was 20 percentage points lower than it was a decade ago.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A student at Thurgood Marshall Elementary in Morrow works on a math problem. Math scores improved overall on this year's Milestones Assessment. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2022)

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

Featured

Curt Hollie at his home in College Park with pictures of five loved ones he lost in a 2020 car crash. From left: His mother, Sherita Carter; his cousin Antonio Sinkfield; his brother Jaylin Carter; his brother Jakwon Carter; and his sister, Tiara Carter. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com