School of Business Sees Drop in Number of Applicants

The George Washington University School of Business saw a 3 percent decrease in the number of applicants to its undergraduate program in 2009, going against the overall University trend of a 6 percent increase over 2008. The School of Business was the only school to see a decrease in the number of applicants.

Administrators at the University were quick to blame the decrease not on the quality of the School (it recently jumped 15 spots in the Business Week rankings), but on the recent economic crisis having dulled the glamour of careers in finance, business. The negative shadow cast on the finance and banking industries, as well as the prospects of making an easy fortune having been blunted by the failure of banks and increasing government regulation has made the majors of finance, accounting, and business administration less attractive to high school graduates. In fact, nationwide, applications to universities' business programs is down nearly 20 percent.