UT joined a national effort to recruit students from rural areas and small towns in an effort to increase college enrollment resources in these areas, according to a July 26 press release.
The University partnered with the Small Town and Rural Students College Network, a group focused on improving educational attainment in rural communities, to receive funding and increase the number of recruiters in these areas. The network receives funding from the Trott Family Foundation and gives partnering schools a minimum of $200,000 per year to help them recruit.
“We are excited to be joining (the network) to continue our efforts to provide students across the 254 Texas counties with access to learn about and receive assistance in pursuing an education at UT Austin,” Miguel Wasielewski, Vice Provost of Admissions, said in a press release.
Colleges in the network, including The University of Alabama and Ohio State University, travel together to high schools around the country. They can also use the network’s funding to cover the cost of travel and housing for visiting students from rural regions. UT and Southern Methodist University are the only Texas universities in the network so far.
According to a 2021 report from the University’s Education Resource Center, students from rural communities in Texas are less likely to enroll in college and get their postsecondary degrees due to fewer local resources and class options to prepare them. Since the network was created last year, representatives from 16 colleges have visited classrooms at 1,100 small-town high schools. The network doubled its membership this year to 32 other prominent institutions.
Kinesiology and health freshman Stella Hendricks is from Kerrville, Texas, a small town located about an hour north of San Antonio, with a population of about 24,752. Hendricks said Kerrville has one middle school and one high school, making it a close-knit community. She said there has been an uptick in students from her high school going to the University.
“We did have a career fair my senior year, and there was a UT booth there, and a lot of people saw that,” Hendricks said. “I feel like in the past few years, there has definitely been an increase in the number of kids from my high school that have started going to UT, which I think is really cool.”
Hendricks said she chose UT after visiting her older brother. She said small towns can be overlooked, but the students living there have a lot to offer.
“These kids (from small towns) are wanting to experience new things and wanting to see what it is like living in bigger cities or living in places like (Austin),” Hendricks said. “I just think (recruiting these students) really expands UT’s student body and the makeup and kinds of kids there.”
Radio-television-film junior Mikayla Hynes is from Mexia, Texas, a town 45 minutes from Waco, with a population of around 6,868. Hynes said recruiting students from small towns shows students they have the option to go elsewhere.
“I think it’s very important to (give people) exposure to the (Austin) area,” Hynes said. “(This allows) people who (think they) can never escape their hometown to see that they have an option out and an opportunity through UT.”
