Washington and Lee University
Common Data Set Information
(last updated March 20, 1997)
GENERAL INFORMATION
 

1. Source of institutional control:

2. Classify your undergraduate institution:
Coeducational college
Carnegie classification/AAUP: II-B, National Liberal Arts College
SACS: Level V

3. Academic year calendar :

Undergraduate - Other (4-4-2)
Law - Early semester

4. Degrees offered by your institution:

Bachelor's (BA, BS)
First professional (JD)

5. Number of degrees awarded by your institution from July 1, 1995, to June 30, 1996:

Bachelor's degrees : 376
First professional: 123

6. Institutional Accreditation:

Regionally accredited? Yes
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
ACADEMIC OFFERINGS AND POLICIES

7. Special study options (see definitions at end):

Double major
Exchange student program (domestic)
Honors program
Independent study
Internships
Student-designed major
Study abroad
Combined bachelor's/graduate programs at your institution:
Combined bachelor's/graduate programs with other institutions:
8. Core curriculum: Must students complete a core curriculum prior to graduation? No. A General Education curriculum is required and is described here.

9. Areas in which all or most students are required to complete some course work prior to graduation.

Arts/fine arts
English (including composition)
Foreign languages
History
Humanities
Mathematics
Philosophy/religion
Physical education
Science (biological or physical)
Social science
ENROLLMENT - Fall 1996

Provide numbers of students reported on IPEDS Fall Enrollment Survey 1996. Include degree-seeking students only. Do not include students enrolled in noncredit adult education classes, enrolled only for short courses, correspondence students, or students who are auditing. Full-time students are defined as those taking 12 or more credit hours or 24 or more contact hours a week each term.

10. Total degree-seeking undergraduate enrollment (include international students/nonresident aliens)

a. Full-time men - 974
b. Full-time women - 671
c. Part-time men - 0
d. Part-time women - 0

11. Ethnic breakdown:

American Indian or Alaskan native - 0 (0)
Asian or Pacific Islander - 26 (7)
Black, non-Hispanic - 35 (5)
Hispanic - 12 (2)
White, non-Hispanic - 1,544 (413)
Multiracial/Other - 7 (4)
Total non-resident aliens - 21 (9)

12. Degree-seeking graduate enrollment:

a. Full-time graduate and first professional men: 215
b. Full-time graduate and first professional women: 145
c. Part-time graduate and first professional men: 0
d. Part-time graduate and first professional women: 0
(Full-time, non-degree seeking students: 1)

13. First-time, first-year (freshman) students:

Total men applied - 1,756
Total women applied - 1,504
Total applications - 3,260
Total men admitted - 670
Total women admitted - 443
Total admitted - 1,113
Total full-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) men enrolled - 269
Total part-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) men enrolled - 0
Total full-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) women enrolled - 171
Total part-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) women enrolled - 0
Total first-time freshmen enrolled - 440

14. Freshman wait-listed students (students who met admission requirements but whose final admission was contingent on space availability)

Do you have a policy of placing students on a waiting list? Yes
If yes, please answer the questions below for fall 1996 admissions:
Number of qualified applicants placed on waiting list - NA
Number accepting a place on the waiting list - NA
Number of wait-listed students admitted - NA
FIRST-TIME, FIRST-YEAR (FRESHMAN) ADMISSION

15. Do you have an open admission policy, under which virtually all secondary school graduates or students with GED equivalency diplomas are admitted? No

Basis for Selection

16. Relative importance of each of the following academic and nonacademic factors in your first-time, first- year (freshman) admission decisions.

Academic
Secondary school record : VI
Class rank : I
Recommendation(s) : I
Standardized test scores : VI
Essay : C

Nonacademic

Interview : I
Extracurricular activities : VI
Particular talent or ability : C
Character/personal qualities : VI
Alumni/ae relation : C
Geographical residence : C
State residency : C
Religious affiliation/commitment : NC
Minority status : C
Volunteer work : C
Work experience : C

17. High school diploma or graduation from high school

Not required/GED not accepted

18. Does your institution require or recommend a general college preparatory program?

Require

19. Distribution of high school units required and/or recommended.

Specify the distribution of academic high school course units required and/or recommended of all or most students using Carnegie units (one unit equals one year of study or its equivalent). If you use a different system for calculating units, please convert.

Units required
Units recommended
Total academic units
16.0 college prep
English
4.0
Mathematics
3.0
Science 
    # of lab units
1.0
1.0
Foreign language
2.0
Social studies
1.0
History
1.0
Academic electives
4.0
Other (specify)
SAT and ACT Policies

20. Does your institution make use of SAT I, SAT II, or ACT scores in admission decisions for first-time, first-year (freshman) applicants ? Yes

Required
Recommended
Considered
Not used
SAT-I
ACT
SAT-I or ACT (no preference)
X
SAT-I or ACT (SAT-I preferred)
SAT-I or ACT (ACT preferred)
SAT-I and SAT-II
SAT-I and SAT-II or ACT
SAT-II
X
(writing plus two of applicant's choice)
Latest date by which SAT I or ACT scores must be received for fall-term admission__________
Latest date by which SAT II scores must be received for fall-term admission__________
In addition to their use in admission, indicate whether SAT I, SAT II, or ACT are used for placement or counseling:
Placement
Counseling
If necessary, use this space to clarify your test policies (e.g., if tests recommended for some students, or if tests not required of some students):_____________________________________________________________

21. Academic Profile

Provide percentages for ALL enrolled full-time and part-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) scores. Include information for ALL enrolled, first-time, first-year (freshman) degree-seeking students who submitted test scores. Do not include partial test scores (e.g., mathematics scores but not verbal for a category of students) or combine other standardized test results (such as TOEFL) in this item. SAT scores should be recentered scores. The 25th percentile is the score that 25% scored at or below; the 75th percentile score is the one that 25% scored at or above.

% submitting SAT scores - 90%
% submitting ACT scores - 10%
Number submitting SAT scores - 397
Number submitting ACT scores - 42
25th percentile
75th percentile
SAT-I Verbal
640
730
SAT-I Math
630
710
ACT Composite
28
30
22. Percentage of all first-time, first-year (freshman) students who had high school class rank within each of the following ranges (report information for those student from whom you collected high school rank information)
% in top tenth of high school graduating class - 75%
% in top fifth of high school graduating class - 94%
% in top quarter of high school graduating class - 97%
% in top two-fifths of high school graduating class - 99%
% in top half of high school graduating class - 100%
% of total first-time, first-year (freshmen) students who submitted high school class rank: - 68%

23. Percentage of all enrolled, first-time, first-year (freshman) students who had high school grade-point averages within each of the following ranges (using 4.0 scale); report information only for those students from whom you collected high school GPA - No information available

Application Procedures

24. Application fee

Amount of application fee - $40
Can it be waived for applicants with financial need? Yes, by request of secondary school counselor

25. Application closing date

Application closing date (fall) - January 15, 1998
Priority date - None

26. Are first-time, first-year students accepted for terms other than the fall? No

27. Notification to applicants of admission decision sent: By April 1

28. Reply policy for admitted applicants

Must reply by May 1

29. Deferred admission: Does your institution allow students to postpone enrollment after admission? Yes

Maximum period of postponement: 1 year

30. Early admission of high school students: Does your institution allow high school students to enroll as full-time, first-time, first-year (freshman) students one year or more before high school graduation? No

31. Common Application: Will you accept the Common Application distributed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals if submitted? Yes

If "yes," are supplemental forms required? No
Is your college a member of the Common Application Group? Yes
Early Decision and Early Action Plans

32. Early decision: Does your institution offer an early decision plan (an admission plan that permits students to apply and be notified of an admission decision well in advance of the regular notification date and which asks students to commit to attending if accepted) for first-time, first-year (freshman) applicants for fall enrollment? Yes

If "yes," please complete the following :
First or only early decision plan closing date - December 1
First or only early decision plan notification date - December 20
Number of early decision applications received by your institution - 383 (for Fall 1997)
Number of applicants admitted under early decision plan - 189 (for Fall 1997)

33. Early action: Do you have a nonbinding early action plan whereby students are notified of an admission decision well in advance of the regular notification date but do not have to commit to attending your college?
No

STUDENT LIFE

34. Percentages of all degree-seeking undergraduates (first-time, first-year freshman students) enrolled in fall 1996 who fit the following categories:

% who are from out-of-state (exclude internat'l/nonresident aliens) - 86% (89%)
% of men who join fraternities - 82% (81%)
% of women who join sororities - 69% (67%)
% who live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing - 64% (100%) - freshmen and sophomores required to live on campus
% who live off campus or commute - 36% (0%)
% students age 25 and older - 0.1% (0%)
Average age of full-time students (as of January 15) - 20 (18)
Average age of all students (full- and part-time) - 20 (18)

35. Activities offered:

Student government
Student newspaper
Literary magazine
Yearbook
Radio station
Television station
Student-run film society
Drama/theater
Choral groups
Concert band
Music ensembles
Dance (club)
Musical theater
Symphony orchestra

36. ROTC (program offered in cooperation with Reserve Officers' Training Corps)

Army ROTC is offered at Virginia Military Institute on a cooperative basis.
Navy and Air Force ROTC are not offered.

37. Housing: Check all types of college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing available for undergraduates at your institution.

Coed dorms
Apartments for single students
Special housing for international students
Fraternity/sorority housing
ANNUAL EXPENSES AND FINANCIAL AID

Provide 1997-98 academic year costs for the following categories that are applicable to your institution.

Tuition: Calculate total based on 30 semester or 45 quarter hours.
Fees: Include those fees that all students pay, such as student activity, health, or registration fees. Do not include application fees.
Room and board (for on-campus residents): Assume double occupancy in institutional housing and 19 meals per week (or maximum meal plan).
Board: Assume average costs for 19 meals per week or the maximum meal plan.
Books and supplies: Indicate average costs of books and supplies. Do not include unusual costs for special groups of students (e.g., engineering or art majors), unless they constitute the majority of students at your institution.
Transportation: Assume two roundtrips to student's hometown per year for students in institutional housing or daily travel to and from your institution.
Other expenses: Include average costs for clothing, laundry, entertainment, medical (if not a required fee), furnishings.

38. Annual expenses for 1997-98

Undergraduates
Total tuition and fees - $16,195
Tuition only - $16,040
Required fees only - $155
Total tuition for out-of-state students - $16,040
Room and board (on-campus) - $4,670
Room only (on-campus) - $1,870
Board only (on-campus meal plan) - $2,800

39. Number of credits per term a student can take for the stated full-time tuition? _12__minimum ___maximum

40. Do tuition and fees vary by year of study (e.g., sophomore, junior, senior)? No

41. If tuition and fees vary by undergraduate instructional program, describe briefly: Not applicable

42. Per-credit-hour charges, undergraduate - Not applicable; all degree-seeking students must be full-time

Per-credit-hour charge for in-state students - NA
Per-credit-hour charge for out-of-state students - NA
Per-credit-hour charge for nonresident aliens (if different from out-of-state) - NA

43. Estimated expenses for academic year

Books and supplies - $800
Other expenses - $1,255