Summer visit breaks record numbers
Students and parents come take a deeper look at what UA offers.
August 1, 2014
The largest summer visit The University of Akron has ever acquired happened June 25. Over 2,000 people came to UA’s campus to look at higher education.
An estimated number of 800 potential students came to the campus in hopes of reaffirming a serious look at attending The University of Akron.
It was the largest summer visit UA has had in the history of the university. Students and parents visited from across Ohio and neighboring states. Pittsburgh residents, who were in great number, appreciated Akron’s affordability even though the cost of out-of-state tuition has always been a con in parents’ eyes.
“I love the campus. It’s beautiful,” Jordin Vidmar, a senior in high school, said.
People were appreciative the size of the campus. The mid-sized campus gives people a sense of comfort since large campuses can be seen as overwhelming while smaller campuses may leave much to be desired for adventurous collegians.
Another aspect of the campus that people enjoyed was the pseudo-hybridization as a rural yet urban environment.
Safety was also a concern, and with the newly-built Akron Children’s Hospital parents said that they would feel safer knowing that medical treatment was just a few blocks away.
Some of the majors that prospective students had in mind reflected on Akron’s past record of notable programs quite accurately. Pre-med, speech pathology, and Akron’s college of business were noted by some potential students. Engineering, a crowd favorite, was in full force. As many groups left to seek out their prospective tour, a vast majority stayed and witnessed a testimonial from a senior in the engineering program.
Monte Turner PhD, the Chair of the Biology Department, intrigued high school students and parents alike. Dr. Turner graduated from The University of Georgia in 1982 with a PhD in Biology. Since then, he has become accomplished through publishing a variety of papers focusing on physiology.
The University of Akron’s faculty’s extensive research experience intrigued a number of visitors. Undergraduate degrees were not the only thing on potential students’ minds that day, but furthering education through master’s programs and doctorate programs.
Sports teams at UA garnered curiosity. Potential track and field student-athletes noted both the men’s and women’s teams accomplishments.
Visitors received the chance to explore a number of residence halls on campus. Spanton, one of the larger dorms that sits in the middle of campus, was busy with tours all day.
The STEM Program, a week-long program where high school girls are invited to UA to experience a taste of what the engineering program would entail, also led to the large crowd.
A large number of legacies were in attendance at the summer visit. Sharon Clark, a nurse who graduated years ago, attended the visit with her daughter. Both appreciated how Akron stayed relevant throughout the years with a copious amount of cutting-edge programs.
“It’s nice to see it’s grown so much,” Clark said.
Akron’s reputation has spanned over decades as expectations of enrollment trickle down from parents to children.
The sentimentality spurred on groups as they explored the rest of the university.
Mollie Steenger, a student hoping to major in respiratory therapy next fall, said that Akron’s post-secondary education opportunities helped to solidify her decision to attend the UA.
Naturally, other Ohio schools were on most visitors’ lists, but Akron’s recent presidential transition intrigued many to investigate UA further.
President Scarborough briefly talked to the potential students early in the day. His first 100 days are well underway and he hoped to gain even more ground by connecting with the next class of students.
The day ended with high school students and their parents familiarizing themselves with the campus.
