Those Who Pick USU Over Any Other College
The Student Life section of Utah State Today highlights work written by the talented student journalists at Utah State University. Each week, the editor selects a story that has been published in The Utah Statesman or the Hard News Café or both for inclusion in Utah State Today.
Those Who Pick USU Over Any Other College
By Max Parker Dahl in The Utah Statesman, Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Utah State [University] routinely places high in rankings of universities nationwide. Headlines include: "USU named one of the top 100 public institutions of higher education in the Best Colleges of 2011," U.S. News and World Reports, August 2010; "No. 1 highest-ranked public university in the West and No. 5 highest-ranked public university in the nation in America's Best College Buys" in Forbes magazine and "‘Best in the West' College" in the Princeton Review, August 2010.
But why do students who aren't from Utah attend USU?
"It comes down to cost in all reality," said USU Recruitment Specialist Corey Mikkelson. "Particularly on the East and West Coast, we are very affordable. It is cheaper to come here and pay out-of-state tuition than attending some schools, and the residency laws are relatively lenient to reduce costs even more."
Mikkelson also cited the campus ambiance and experience.
"We have a beautiful outdoor campus where students away from home can have the full college experience, especially skiing and outdoor winter activities," he said.
But more than affordability and activities, what draws students away from home to Utah State?
"The question wasn't ‘why?' in my mind but ‘why not?' come to Utah State," said Brian Gleason, sophomore in engineering from Wyoming. "I came to school because of the engineering program, but there was a lot of cool people and Aggie basketball; that's why I stayed. I had never been to campus, but friends encouraged me to apply for a scholarship and I got it."
Gleason said USU is an institution that can't be beat.
"The price is right, the people are right, the girls are hot, and seriously, you can't not like Utah State after going to an Aggie basketball game. It has everything that a ginger needs to survive," the redhead said.
Utah State focuses on bringing new students to tour the grounds, and works to find a scholarship or payment plan that will reduce tuition or waive costs to bring them down to in-state prices, Mikkelson said.
"The message we try to get across to incoming students is getting a great education that is affordable and having fun doing it," Mikkelson said. "Students want to come here once they've seen it. If they commit to coming on a campus tour, they will come to USU."
Mikkelson said recruitment efforts involve online videos and tours, as well as the upcoming "out-of-state weekend," Feb. 26, where students will tour campus facilities and file into the Spectrum to watch an Aggie basketball game.
Gentry Nielson, from Pennsylvania, toured campuses across the state, filming his tours for the Utah Council as an ambassador, before coming to Utah State.
"I visited a lot of schools. My brother was at BYU and my sister was attending Utah State, and I visited USU after being at BYU. The contrast was amazing. It was the visit and getting to know how the atmosphere was here that really did it for me."
Nielson said campus was more down-to-earth than at other schools.
"I saw what I was looking for at Utah State, on campus and off, that I didn't see at other campuses," he said. "Being from the East coast, I didn't want to stay, I wanted to get away and experience something new and different than what I was used to. The engineering program is stellar, and the scholarship opportunity that I could get my hands on definitely helped."
Another key recruiting tool for out-of-state enrollment, Mikkelson said, is word-of-mouth referrals from current students and alumni.
"The biggest determining factor was the familiarity with Logan," said Oregon native David Peterson. "I have family in Logan, and both of my parents went to Utah State. I needed to choose somewhere to go, it was affordable, I got a scholarship and it felt safe."
Peterson visited campus before committing to attend.
"I remember going to Aggie ice cream and the student center, I liked the atmosphere here," he said. "Good memories and good feeling at Utah State. I'm also going into medicine and Utah State has awesome acceptance rates into medical school."
Students that transfer from other universities also report feeling comfortable at USU.
"I had two brothers that graduated from USU, and Aggie basketball was always a huge reason," said Jake Frisby, who is from Arizona. "I came up on a visit, watched a basketball game, went ice skating, went on a campus tour and fell in love; I knew that this was where I needed to be. I hated SUU, I can only think of swear words when I think about my stay at SUU."
Utah State has been recognized for excellent teaching, with 10 of the last 16 Carnegie Professors of the Year in Utah coming from USU. Buildings and facilities keep expanding, programs on campus continue to develop, and students from other states continue to choose Utah State for their higher education.
Brian Gleason chose USU over colleges closer to home for many reasons. One of USU's main draws is low tuition costs. Ani Mirzakhanyan photo from the USU Statesman Online.
Comments and questions regarding this article may be directed to the contact person listed on this page.
