Madison Strickland, 18, graduated Saturday from Evans High School with an 1,820 SAT score and a 3.74 GPA. He'd like to study biomedical engineering at Clemson University this fall, but instead he'll be attending Augusta State University.
Madison is staying close to home to save money. Out-of-state tuition, fees and other expenses at Clemson were estimated at $31,500 last year. In-state costs were estimated at $18,500. It's $1,549 for 12 hours at Augusta State.
His goal is to help wounded veterans by working on prosthetics, but he'll work on his core curriculum the first year.
"Their majors (at Augusta State) don't really have what I'm looking for," he said.
He also looked at an in-state engineering school, Georgia Tech, but he was placed on a waiting list.
It seems he's not the only one who's had trouble getting into the school -- students thought to be shoo-ins were also added to the list or rejected, he said.
"I definitely think that colleges are being a lot more selective," he said.
Atlanta was too big anyway, he said.
The small upstate South Carolina town where Clemson is located is more suited to his ideal college location.
He was accepted to Clemson, but will retake the SAT for a higher score in hopes of gaining admission to the honors college and scholarships to help pay for his education, he said.
He's also a Clemson football fan, and the school spirit he has seen at games he attended is a major pull.
In the meantime, he'll stay at home, and stay involved in his church, Grace Baptist Church of Evans, he said.
"It won't be much of a culture shock for me," he said.
Reach Sarah Day Owen at (706) 823-3223 or sarah.owen@augustachronicle.com.
STAYING CLOSE TO HOME
With the economic downturn putting a pinch on many families, more college-bound grads of the Class of 2009 might be getting an education closer to home.
Augusta State Director of Admissions & Registrar Katherine Sweeney says she has seen more applications from local students for fall semester. Though that might be no surprise, as college enrollment tends to increase in lean economic times, the academic caliber of potential students is higher.
"I continue to see, as folders pass by my desk, steadily higher and higher GPAs and SAT scores," she said.
The savings are obvious:Tuition for a full-time undergraduate at Augusta State starts at $1,549. At the University of Georgia in Athens, it's $6,030, and at private Emory University in Atlanta, tuition is $37,500.
At the University of South Carolina Aiken, Andrew Hendrix, director of admissions, says he also has seen a stronger than usual pool of local high school graduates.
"We are unscientifically attributing that to concerns about tuition," he said.
Ms. Sweeney says Augusta State won't know who's attending and who was just looking at local options until orientation rolls around at the end of June, she said, or when it comes time to pay tuition in August.
There's more uncertainty than usual about final numbers at the Aiken campus, Mr. Hendrix said.
"I think there are students and families waiting as long as possible and keeping their options open," he said.
If fewer students commit, Mr. Hendrix said it would mean budget shortfalls, because much of the budget comes from tuition. If it's much larger than expected, it could put stress on the sections for freshman level classes, which could result in larger class sizes or the supply not meeting the demand.
In the case of a potential higher influx of students, an admission cap, which would have to be approved by the Board of Regents, isn't being discussed at the moment at Augusta State.
"We still have capacity on our campus," Ms. Sweeney said.
The focus would shift from recruitment to retention, to give the students a positive experience. It can be difficult to sell 18- to 20-year-old potential students on the school without setting foot on campus, she said.
-- Sarah Day Owen
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Augusta State University is a great school. However, where they miss the boat is in the majors they offer. An undergraduate is limited if they have aspirations to other fields. But ASU is a liberal arts college and not as focused on technology as the bigger schools.