While Colonial Inauguration is an experience in which all members of the GW community are required to participate, some students found that the travel expenses to get there this summer were too much to shell out for the orientation program.

Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket to fly cross-country for less than 72 hours, freshman Priyanka Karande chose to sign up for International CI at the end of August.

“I had just finished visiting the school in April for Admit Day when I was told that I needed to come to D.C. again for another three-day visit for CI,” said Karande.

The two-day orientation occurred the week before classes started, and is regularly promoted as an opportunity for foreign students to attend the program without having to fly out in the middle of the summer.

Steve Roche, a director in the Student Activities Center who oversees CI, said the school regularly allows domestic students to attend the international program each year for various reasons, including travel costs, time conflicts and personal situations.

“Our fall CI population has remained relatively consistent at approximately 475 students over the past few years,” Roche said. “[This year, there were] 267 domestic freshmen and transfer students registered attending.”

While registration and housing for the annual orientation program is included in students’ deposits to the University, one round-trip ticket from the West Coast to the District can run upwards of $400 during the busy summer months.

“Bottom line, I didn’t feel like it was worth it to purchase another plane ticket for a [short] orientation,” Karande said.