New “VIP” Portion of Explore UT Boosts Recruiting

By Lynn Freehill in Promote & Protect on December 1, 2011 at 12:27 pm | 1 Comment

The conventional wisdom was that UT didn’t need to recruit students—in a state as big as Texas, they would just show up. But while it’s true that application rates are high, sheer numbers don’t make for a mind-blowing student body. Just as we recruit top athletes, we also need to recruit top students.

UT is making progress toward that, adding a “UT VIP” admissions component to Explore UT.

The annual Explore UT open house is a hit with younger kids every March, so the University decided to build on that success in 2011—and the results were impressive.

Associate admissions director Caroline Enriquez coordinated the invitation-only program as a parallel track within the open house. UT colleges and schools volunteered to participate, with Architecture, Business, Communication, Education, Engineering, Geosciences and Natural Sciences jumping in.

Their top recruits were invited to attend panel discussions, sample lectures by faculty members, and lunches, then take in regular Explore UT sessions in the afternoon.

UT VIP invitees included 507 admitted students from seven colleges and schools, plus their parents. The majority of the students were from Texas, but 26 came from out of state.

And here is what happened:  77 percent of those attending UT VIP during Explore UT enrolled for the fall. That compares to 40 percent of those who were invited but who did not attend—a 37 percent difference.

Admissions did a survey following Explore UT of those who attended the UT VIP program. Eighty-one percent of those reponding said they “felt like a VIP during Explore UT.” And 86 percent felt “members of the UT community recognized me and made me feel welcome.” Nice.

Top: A family takes in UT VIP. Below: Featured speaker Sara Martinez Tucker engages the audience. Courtesy UT Events.

Tags: Explore UT, ut admissions, UT student recruiting, UT top students, UT VIP recruiting