Travelling in threes brings recruiting luck

It may seem unusual for three competing universities to combine efforts in recruiting prospective students. The University has combined forces with Duke and Georgetown universities in a joint travel program to attract students from areas where the number of applicants is traditionally weak. And the crowds turning out to hear what the universities have to say are overwhelming. During Senior Admissions Officer Amy Calhoun's first stop in Mobile, Ala. earlier this week, 135 perspective students and their parents showed up. "Some drove in two to three hours to come to the program," Calhoun said last night from her hotel room in Little Rock, Ark. "There were more people there than I ever thought I'd see." Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said the joint travel program gives the admissions office the opportunity to continue building up the University's name and image in select areas around the country. "The three schools together found that three schools are better than one in bringing students out in more distant areas," he said. "It's a more efficient way to travel." And, Stetson said, admissions officials have seen an almost immediate impact in the number of applications received from students who have attended these programs. The program, begun three years ago by Stetson and Georgetown Admissions Dean Charlie Deacon, attempts to give students general information on selective universities and specific information on the schools featured. -Charles Ornstein