Athens High School students might be used to having a four-year university nearby, but some seniors aren’t convinced they’re missing what’s in their own backyards.
About 65 percent of students from Athens County who were admitted to Ohio University this fall actually enrolled, according to the Fall 2011 Undergraduate Admissions Statistics report recently released by the Ohio University Office of Institutional Research.
OU does not make enrollment available by individual high schools.
The county’s numbers are down about 6 percent from Fall Quarter 2010, when about 71 percent of Athens County’s admitted applicants enrolled in classes.
The downward trend does not necessarily indicate enrollment will continue to decline, said Candace Boeninger, assistant vice provost of Undergraduate Admissions.
“When planning enrollment strategies, we’re looking at a long period of time, and when measuring results for those enrollment goals, we look over a period of time as well,” she said. “A down year in any particular demographic is cause for attention as are up years. But when there’s sustained growth or decline, it’s cause for more concern.”
Athens High School, located just outside Athens, hosts about 200 seniors, said guidance councilor Suzanne Powell, who advises about half the students.
OU’s high acceptance rate can lower the school’s prestige to some applicants, but OU does have some redeeming qualities, said Athens High School senior Anne Li, who has been accepted to the Honors Tutorial College at OU.
“No one looks down on you, but no one really looks up to you either unless you’re in HTC or Scripps,” Li said. “If you’re in one of those programs, people are probably really excited for you.”
Li said the appeal of higher-caliber schools within OU encourages her to enroll more so than the university as a whole.
“While I’ve been living (in Athens), I’ve always thought of OU as a fallback school,” Li said. “But when I started applying to HTC, I started realizing that it’s really competitive. Even our guidance councilors warn us, ‘Don’t think you can get in to (HTC) because your parents work there.’?”
Factors that influence a decision about enrolling at OU vary from student to student, but with any university, an important concern with students is college finances, Powell said.
Though she didn’t give any other concerns expressed by Athens High School seniors, Powell said students face a decision about whether they will study at OU.
“We deal with a variety of students with different sets of circumstances,” Powell said. “But some are fortunate to go to Ohio University, and some are more advanced and HTC is more of a goal for them.”
About 85 percent of applicants from Ohio’s 33 Appalachian counties were admitted to the university for fall 2011. About half enrolled in fall classes.
Though his dad works at OU, freshman Andy Obregon said he was more interested in what the university has to offer.
“It’s not like I had to come (to OU). Ultimately, it was my decision,” said Obregon, who is studying psychology. “After looking at all the university had to offer, I knew that I was coming to OU even though I had other options.”
Though close to home, Athens High School students will have a new life on campus that they probably didn’t have in high school, Obregon said.
“Wanting to get out of Athens is fine, but I don’t support seeing OU as a backup school just because it’s near home,” he said. “It’s a different experience living in a dorm in Athens than living at your home.”
jj360410@ohiou.edu
