Sweet Briar achieves 42 percent increase in new student enrollment for fall

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Admin


Class of 22 banner
Today Sweet Briar College announced new-student enrollment numbers and details of its incoming first-year class for the 2018-19 academic year. A total of 129 new students have enrolled for the fall 2018 semester, compared to 91 last fall.

The Class of 2022 will be comprised of 114 first-year students (compared to 79 last fall) representing 23 states, with half of the students from Virginia, and five non-USA countries — China, Ethiopia, India, Mexico and Russia. The class’s mean grade point average is 3.51 (compared to 3.34 last fall) and mean SAT (combined) is 1098 (compared to 1071 last fall), with 44 students earning the Presidential Scholarship, the College’s merit award for the highest academic achieving students.

“Not only is the quantity of students increasing, but also — judging by their aptitude test scores and grade point averages — more academically gifted students are making Sweet Briar their college choice,” President Meredith Woo noted. “They are the first class to take advantage of the leadership core curriculum, which will be taught by our most talented faculty. Sweet Briar is quite naturally positioned to serve as a private honors college for the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Other demographics of the first-year class include:

  • 6.1 percent are legacy students, meaning a family member also attended Sweet Briar

  • 16.7 percent self-identified as a minority (based on self-identified race and Hispanic origin)

  • 30.7 percent are first-generation college students (compared to 18 percent last year)

  • 32.7 percent are student-athletes who have signed on to one or more of the College’s seven NCAA Division III varsity athletic teams or NCEA riding team


“As acknowledged around the country, Sweet Briar is a new academic model for liberal arts institutions in the 21st century. This increase in enrollment is a strong indicator that the forward-thinking changes introduced last year are exactly what today’s student seeks to prepare her to be tomorrow’s leader,” said Melissa Farmer Richards, vice president for communications and enrollment management.

Fifteen of the 129 new students are transfer students representing the states of Virginia, Missouri and New York, as well as the countries of Mongolia and India.

With Sweet Briar’s rolling admission, new students are continuing to apply for the upcoming academic year, and the College has some spots remaining. Interested applicants should apply right away and contact the Office of Admissions to expedite the application process. Visit sbc.edu/admissions/apply-now or call 434-381-6142.