This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Gabi Marush.

The University received a record 21,400 applicants for the incoming Class of 2015, marking the third consecutive year that GW saw an increase in applicants.

This year’s applicant pool represents a 200-student increase from last year’s total of 21,200 freshman applications, Executive Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Kathryn Napper said.

All 50 states were represented in the applicant pool, including D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam.

California – which saw a 22 percent increase in applicants – moved past New Jersey to become the second most represented state behind New York.

Napper added that a record 2,750 applications came from international students, representing more than 13 percent of all freshman applicants. The international applicants are from 139 countries.

“We are very pleased by the interest from this dynamic and diverse student population who want to be members of the GW community,” Napper said in a statement.

Napper said it is too early to determine how selective the University will be for regular and Early Decision II applicants as a result of the increase in applications, but said the University hopes to have a freshman class of 2,350 students. The University accepts more students than there are spaces in the freshman class, and in the past has yielded a little more than one third of those accepted.

In December, the University accepted 532 Early Decision I applicants – whose applications to the University are binding – leaving slightly more than 1,800 spots open for the University’s target freshman class size.