Georgia faces fight to keep graduates

Patrick Winter's efforts to retain some of Georgia's best and brightest high school graduates have become increasingly difficult as neighboring states lure them away with more attractive offers.

Mr. Winter, the University of Georgia's senior associate director of admissions, said universities outside the state are getting more aggressive in their Georgia recruiting.

This is especially true for states that are projected to see the number of high school graduates decline or be stagnant in the coming years.

Georgia is projected to produce 22 percent more graduates in 2014-15 than it did in 2004-05, according to a report released this month by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. That will mean an increase in the number of college-bound students.

"It very much seems to be a buyer's market," Mr. Winter said, noting that potential students are increasingly asking him to counter scholarship offers from colleges outside Georgia. "It's almost like purchasing a car. They think they can bargain for the price of attendance."

The increase in Georgia's graduates is welcome news to Auburn University, where 40 percent of students come from out of state, said Wayne Alderman, the dean of enrollment services. Many of those students come from Georgia, whose border is only 20 miles from the school.

The potential danger in having so many students leave the state is that they might not return, taking away a group of potential high-income workers and taxpayers.

Mr. Winter cited research that says they typically don't come back.

Rajeev Dhawan, the director of Georgia State University's Economic Forecasting Center, said college graduates will likely follow the jobs. If Georgia has a healthy job market, the graduates will return to the state.

"For an economy to grow, it doesn't matter where the students get educated," Dr. Dhawan said.

John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School valedictorian Beth Caldwell and its student council president, George Daniels, are looking in-state, but both have also applied to Ivy League colleges and would prefer to venture out of Georgia.

George, 17, said he's being courted by historically black colleges in Florida and Washington, D.C. He's considering both because of the financial packages they're offering, but money is only one factor in his decision, he said.

Both students were leery of talking about specific colleges and scholarships until they get accepted. Beth, however, said she was offered a merit scholarship to UGA, although that isn't enough to lock her in.

The state's HOPE Scholarship had been enough to keep many top students close to home, but it isn't always incentive enough when other states compete for them, Mr. Winter said.

"As the quality of the students increase, you find they have more options," he said. UGA has limited funding to counter offers from out-of-state competitors, he said.

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.