Michigan State University - Red Cedar Log Yearbook (East Lansing, MI)

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22 ATTRACTS NEW STUDENTS CHRIS KUEMMERLE Personalized diversity; perhaps that could best explain the appeal MSU's Ad- mission Department made in their job of attracting new students to the Universi- ty. The variety of work done by the Ad- mission Department included special Merit Day and Alumni Distinguished scholarship (ADS) programs, college night, and daily recruiting at high schools. Mailing follow-up was also an integral part of the admissions program. In the fall of 1979, the results of the department's work were more success- ful than was anticipated. With the re- cent decline in high school population, MSU was expecting a decline in enroll- ment for the 1979 80 academic year. Yet this fall, as Charles Curry, Associate Director of Admissions Scholarships, pointed out “freshman enrollment in- creased by 350 students.”’ Mr. Curry attributed this increased en- rollment in part to what he called “the Magic effect,’ a reference to MSU’s publicity as 1979 NCAA basketball champions. Charles Seely, director of admissions attributed the increase in en- rollment to the students. ‘The students are selling the university when they stop to help visitors on campus. We are a friendly campus, the attitude of stu- dents and faculty is friendly.’ The admissions department con- INTERACTION ADMISSIONS DEPARTMENT veyed this friendly, personal attitude in their programs. One program offered by the department, the Alumni Distin- guished Scholarship program, celebrat- ed it 25th anniversary this year. This pro- gram was offerred to selected students on an invitation only basis. The top five to ten percent of students accepted by December of that year were invited to take part in a competition for a full ride scholarship to the university. This nation- al competition attracted students from all over the nation to MSU. Similarly, the Merit day program in No- vember made a personal appeal to Na- tional Merit Scholars from Michigan. One hundred and twenty five high school seniors spent a Sunday afternoon talk- ing to professors, administrators and stu- dents. Tom Strong, a senior at Adams High School in Rochester said, ‘the pro- gram left me with a positive attitude about MSU. | am thinking more seriously about attending MSU. It helps to be more informed and see how the Univer- sity presents itself.’’ Pam Walker, a Cass Tech student said, “Talking to people made the size of MSU less scary. The program left me with a positive feeling about the school.’’ Making a big school attractive is one problem the admissions department worked with. “One thing we have to contend with is size,”’ said » aes ie : 4 Ne oy 44 1 TF at . 1. J % ie =o Vw | e. re a m | . C4 ty Ve] : P| f : ij

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Charles Seely, “we don’t shy away from that; we present the advantages of bigness.’’ Size did not have to be a dis- advantage. Brian Klebba, a senior in psychology liked the size of MSU. l en- joy lots of people and being exposed to different cultures. | feel | get the person- al attention | need when | look for it.”’ Another advantage pointed out by Mr. Curry was “the diversity provided by a large college. Students can change | majors and explore possibilities because | of our large curriculum and staff.” Charles Seely said, ‘There is an advan- tage in being big, because you can be small,” referring to the Honors College and residential colleges. Mail follow-up was another way the admissions department brought to MSU to prospective students. MSU mailed 20,000 applications to students who in- dicated MSU as a preference on their ACT SAT test scores. ‘Following accep- | Photography by Paula Mohr a | tance to the university the average high school student receives eight letters. These monthly newsletters were sent to prospective students to familiarize them with the university,’” said Mr. Seely, who supported the system with the student response he has received. “Students said, ‘yeah, | received a lot of mail, but the only school that kept sending it was MSU. Their follow-up showed they were interested in me.’” Mr. Seely saw the role of the admis- sions department as an informative one. “We aren't recruiters giving a hard sell. We try to present information to stu- dents to aid their decisions,’’ he said. “After all, the admission office doesn’t sell the university; the university does. Satisfied students sell the university,” which helped the job of the Admissions Department at MSU during the 1979 80 academic year. THE INITIATION ... SCHEDULES, TESTS, STUDENT LIFE 23