The University is on a mission to attract high school seniors to UNM.
UNM makes about 600 personal phone calls per night to prospective students, said Terry Babbitt, director of UNM Recruitment Services.
To make a better connection with students, Babbitt said the recruitment office has a telephone outreach program that is in full swing at this time of year. The office hires UNM students to make calls each night.
"I got a call from the recruiters, and it was kind of cool just talking to a person about what I want to do," said Sean Barre, a Sandia High School senior. "It kind of makes the people feel more like they want you."
Barre said the phone call he received from UNM contributed 5 percent to his decision to attend the University.
It's not finalized yet, though. Barre hasn't finished filling out his application. He is waiting until the last minute, he said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
While going to school, working at a part-time job at Carrabba's Italian Grill and playing baseball for Sandia High, it's sometimes hard for him to find the time to apply to college, said Caryn Barre, Sean's mother.
The biggest incentive at UNM is the lottery scholarship, she said.
"The lottery scholarship makes the decision simpler to make," Sean Barre said.
The lottery scholarship program is a merit-based award that pays for tuition at in-state public universities.
UNM uses direct mail, brochures, postcards, e-mail, chat rooms and Web logs to recruit students to UNM.
Five on-staff recruiters visit New Mexico's 178 high schools a couple of times each semester. The majority of freshmen come from Bernalillo County, according to the official enrollment report for 2004 - 1,566 to be exact. The top feeder high schools to UNM are Rio Rancho with 201, Eldorado with 199 and La Cueva with 196.
"Another way we try to build our prospects and build our rapport with prospective students is actually going out to their communities to visit them," Babbitt said.
Students are often invited to events at the University, such as ethnic student days and Senior Day. On Presidents Day, the recruitment office expects a large group of students to tour the campus. For out-of-state students, UNM picks and chooses, Babbitt said.
"We can't afford to recruit everywhere, naturally," he said.
Aside from New Mexico high school students, the most freshmen come to UNM from Texas, followed by Colorado and California.
UNM's biggest competitor for prospective students is Arizona State University, Babbitt said.
"It's getting more difficult because it has become quite competitive," said Eliseo Torres, vice president of Student Affairs. "Every university is out there looking for the best students. They are coming in our back yard."
While the Southwest is generally diverse, Babbitt said UNM's culture is a little more unique, and that's a big selling point.
"But the obvious thing is in-state students can get the lottery scholarship," Torres said. "Come to UNM, and you can get your tuition paid for, but there's a lot more than that."
UNM operates tours to entice parents, students
UNM campus tours give potential students a glimpse into real college life.
High school students Bon Baca and Victoria Salazar took the afternoon campus tour Tuesday.
Baca, a senior at Belen High School, said the campus tour was a positive experience.
"It was very informative," he said.
Baca said he was interested in UNM because he doesn't want to go out of state.
"I think UNM is the best college in New Mexico," he said.
He is interested in studying business or geology, he said.
Baca's parents, Carolyn and Martin, said campus tours are a good idea.
"They help with anxiety and give a head start," Carolyn said.
She said the tour provided a lot of helpful information about what the campus has to offer.
"It's good to know about the computer pods on campus," she said.
Victoria Salazar, a senior at Rio Rancho High School, said her parents made her come on the tour.
She said she is interested in eventually attending veterinary school. Salazar is also considering Colorado State and Oklahoma State for her undergraduate education, she said.
Salazar's parents, Linda and Gilbert Hernandez, said they are interested in UNM for financial reasons.
"You just can't beat the lottery," Linda said.
Celina Gomez, an employee at UNM's Student Affairs Recruitment Services, said the tours provide students with an understanding of campus life at UNM.
"Sometimes they'll see someone sleeping at the Duck Pond or studying," Gomez said. "I tell them this is really what UNM is like."
Recruitment Services offers 45-minute tours of campus on all weekday mornings and afternoons.
Gomez said spring is the busiest time of year for recruitment services.
"Students are trying to figure out where they want to go," she said.
She said there is a wide range of students who participate in the campus tours.
"It's a big mix," Gomez said. "There are a lot of out-of-state students."
Gomez said recruitment employees will set up appointments with advisers or make arrangements for a student to attend a class.
"If a student is interested in chemistry, we'll contact a professor and ask if the student can come to a class," Gomez said.
She said recruitment services also provides housing tours.
Gomez said there are usually six or seven students on a tour.
"The groups vary in size," she said. "A lot of people will bring their whole family."
Gomez said all of the tour guides at recruitment services are UNM students.
- Alyson Rimsha