UGA takes multi-faceted approach to recruiting Georgia students

This year, more than 40,000 students applied to the University of Georgia and 6,175 first-year students were enrolled. Despite the high number of applicants, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions recruits high school students year-round to ensure each incoming class comes from all corners of the state.

Eighty percent of UGA’s incoming class are Georgia residents. Of the state’s 159 counties, 148 were represented by last year’s incoming class, and 144 this year. But UGA’s Senior Associate Director of Recruitment Cindy Boyles would like to see every county included. “We’re very intentional about connecting with those rural counties where we haven’t had anyone attend UGA recently,” she said.

The admissions recruitment team made 269 high school visits across the state last year, and this year, they are on track to surpass that number. As of early September, the team had 295 high school visits planned in Georgia alone.

“We’re trying to be impactful in a number of different ways,” said Boyles. “We connect with counselors and students who have a real interest in going to UGA, and we’re also looking for a level of preparedness.”

While recruiting, the team schedules as many high school visits as they can in one day, which can be difficult in rural Georgia where schools are sometimes several hours apart. Boyles said they tackle that issue in a variety of ways. The Rural Counselor Drive-In Program invites counselors from Georgia’s rural areas to come to UGA’s campus for the day. In an effort to demystify the admissions process, speakers from different departments give presentations, as well as student ambassadors from UGA’s ALL Georgia program, which supports rural students on campus.

Several other key programs also help widen the applicant pool of Georgia residents:

• The Georgia Certificate of Merit (COM) program recognizes the top 10% of students within the junior class from over 500 high schools in Georgia. The program, which only included the top 5% until last year, encourages students to pursue higher education opportunities.
• Discover Georgia is an initiative aimed at these high-achieving COM rising seniors. The biannual event features presentations from admissions, a panel of current students, a parent alumni panel, and various other programs designed to promote higher education and the opportunities available at UGA.
• The Peach State Tour is another longstanding state initiative designed to reach students at Georgia high schools. This series of in-person and virtual events brings admissions and financial aid information from the University of Georgia, Augusta University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech and the Georgia Student Finance Commission to students, counselors and supporters throughout the state of Georgia. Last year, the program had over 5,300 attendees.
• First Look is a full-day program for select high school students and their families to visit campus and learn more about UGA.
• Road Dawgs occurs during UGA’s spring break when current UGA students visit high schools and share their college experience and future plans.
• Road Dawgs Home Edition is a newer version of the established Road Dawgs program. During winter break, UGA students talk to high school classes in their hometowns, in an effort to inspire interest in other students.
• The Atlanta Public Schools and UGA Partnership creates connections with high school students who may not be considering UGA. The program also provides professional development opportunities for APS counselors and administrators.
• Compass Middle School Outreach is designed to create early awareness about postsecondary options and discuss the college admissions process with eighth graders.
• The UGA Alumni-Admissions Partnership reaches students through alumni volunteers writing to recently admitted students, sharing their college memories and encouraging them to choose UGA.

This year, the Admissions team has also ramped up its outreach to transfer students to align with UGA’s new strategic enrollment plan, which aims to enroll one new transfer student for every two first-year students.

Kelly Coffman, associate director of marketing and communications for UGA’s Office of Admissions, said her team has developed a complete communication plan from the recruitment lens. “We want it to be more of a seamless experience for transfer students. Our communication with these students will now be similar to our outreach to first-year students,” she said.

Enrolling more transfer students will potentially increase the number of in-state students as approximately 95% of UGA’s current transfer students live in Georgia. They are also more likely to be from rural parts of the state and twice as likely to be the first in their family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree.

Across the spring and fall term, UGA had 3,000 transfer students, an increase of almost 12% from the previous year. Approximately one-fourth of UGA’s graduates enter the university as transfer students, so it’s an important demographic to support.

For more information, check out The Office of Undergraduate Admissions’ Annual Report.