It’s about that time of the year when high school students all over are preparing for their next big step in life: college.

But here at Kent State, a great amount of emphasis is put on recruiting of out-of-state students.

“We work on finding students interested in Kent State,” Director of Admissions Nancy Dellavecchia said. “We find students through the web, college fairs, high school visits. E-mail is a big connection.”

What most people don’t realize is the amount of work that is being put in to recruiting students from other states.

“We offer the University Award Program, Academic Discovery Days, Academic Tour Days and Geographic receptions,” said Chuck Rickard, associate vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.

In 2003, 323 freshmen were out-of-state students. In Fall 2006 the number jumped to 426 out-of-state freshmen on campus, he said.

“A majority of these students are coming from University Award states,” Rickard said. “We recruit around 3,600 freshman. That is our target.”

The University Award Program is granted to a student from a select number of 17 states who have a minimum high school GPA of 2.5, who are admitted as a first-time freshman and will receive $3,700 toward their out-of-state surcharge, Rickard said.

“Costs have skyrocketed,” he said. “We have also now added a University Award Program for transfer students with the attempt to open new markets.”

Melissa Vogel, sophomore visual communication design major, came to Kent State from Houston, Pa.

“I originally came because I knew they had the best architecture program back when I wanted to be an architect,” she said. “If I wasn’t going to be here it would have been a totally different program in North Carolina and receive no money.”

“At the time of choosing a college, I found it was close enough to home that I could go home, but far enough that I could have independence,” she added.

This year, Kent State admissions officers traveled to Pittsburgh; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; Gaithersburg, Md.; Fairfax, Va.; Toledo; Cincinnati and Columbus for their Geographic Receptions.

At the receptions, students and parents learn about admissions, residence halls, campus life and all of our academic programs, he said.

“We do a lot to recruit out-of state,” Rickard said. “And it works for us.”

Contact student affairs reporter Caroline Lautenbacher at [email protected].