It’s not clear what exactly the University College is. Do all admitted first year students get invited?
No about 600 students are in UC. Other similar programs (AU Scholars, Community Based Research Scholars, etc.) comprise another 300-400 students, so these opportunities are offered to about 1,000 of the 1,600 or so freshmen. UC is basically a program where you pick a freshman seminar class, and are then housed on the same hall as your other classmates. It provides the opportunity to form relationships both in the dorm and the classroom. Most who do it are often skeptical going in, but come out of it with some of their best friends from freshman year, at least that’s what we hear. Many schools are doing some form of these LLC arrangements as a way to ease the transition to college and promote the “college” experience.
University College is actually open to any freshman, no invitation needed, but its space is limited, so it operates on a reservation system (first come, first served). All the info is on the AU website here: http://www.american.edu/learning-communities/universitycollege/Index.cfm
I heard from AU earlier this week that slots are now extremely limited. They said if interested, you should call the UC office.