Status lures in students

For Shafaq Moosa, choosing the right college to attend was not a difficult task.

The incoming business freshman, who is one of thousands that applied to UH, said the University was one of many that accepted her application. Moosa selected UH over the other schools because of the University’s Tier One recognition.

“It makes me feel better (to know that UH is Tier One) because I know I am going to a really good school,” Moosa said.

UH is seeing a record-breaking number of freshman applicants for the Fall 2011 semester. Jeff Fuller, director of student recruitment in the Office of Admissions, attributes the increase in enrollment to the school’s distinction as a Tier One institution.

“We think that definitely the Tier One status and recognition by Princeton Review as one of the best universities in the United States are two key factors that have led us to have the numbers that we have,” Fuller said.

The number of completed freshman applications for the Fall 2011 semester stands at 14,546, which is an increase from last fall’s record number of 12,656.

Though the deadline for fall admission has ended, the Office of Admissions is still working on getting a total for the number of completed applications for this year, which will happen later on in the week, Fuller said.

He said he expects roughly 40 percent of the number of applicants to register for fall classes, based on trends from 2008 to 2010.

Moosa has already attended orientation and registered for the fall semester.

“I’m excited to finally get out of high school and to start my education to get a degree,” she said.

The number of transfer student applicants is also on the rise, although the numbers reflect an insignificant increase from last year.

The number of Fall 2011 transfers stands at 5556 — a slight increase from last year’s 5544 applicants.

Fuller said the final number of transfer applicants won’t be known until after the final mandatory transfer student orientation in August.

The Office of Admissions is working closely with other departments on campus, including the housing department, to build a strategy that will accommodate the growing number of incoming students.

The office is also working on recruiting students from across the state.

“Texas is unique in the fact that we are one of half a dozen states in the nation to have a growing population of high school students,” he said. “And so we are definitely taking full advantage of that and that is why the university has dedicated full-time presence in areas outside of Houston.”

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