Although out-of-state students only make up a small percent of the student population, the University officials said Rutgers goes to great lengths to appeal to them.
Currently, nine percent of the Rutgers New Brunswick population is made up of out-of-state students, said Courtney McAnuff, the vice president for Enrollment Management.
"We would like the best and the brightest from all parts of the world," he said.
In order to attract out-of-state students, the University campaigns across the nation.
"Admissions staff members strategically select out-of-state markets using geo-demographic tools such as the College Board Enrollment Planning Service, census data and Rutgers historic data," said Sandra Lanman director of Media Relations.
Standards are not raised higher for out-of-state students but typically many of the students who will attend college out of state produce higher SAT scores and grades, McAnuff said.
"It takes more money to go out of state for school so it is appealing to families with more resources. McAnuff said.
Admissions staff members represent the University at national, regional and high school events throughout the state, Lanman said.
Prospective students who visit the Rutgers University Web site can design their own information packet tailored to their specific academic and extracurricular interests, which has largely taken the place of the generic brochure we sent in the past, Lanman said.
Another way that recruiters appeal to out-of-state students is through the Athletics Department.
"I'm not competing [with the track team] any more, but that was the main driving force for me coming to Rutgers," said Bret Ligon, a School of Engineering sophomore, from Maryland. "I heard of Rutgers through other track coaches while on overnight visits to their schools."
While Ligon was visiting Bucknell University, he asked the coach about highly respected track programs in the area, and found that Rutgers was among them, he said.
"[The coach] said Rutgers was one of the finest. That got me interested initially," he said.
When Ligon paid an overnight visit to Rutgers and spent time with the track team, he said he felt that the environment was more inviting than other schools he had visited.
"It was more engaging and more fun and the atmosphere was better than Lehigh, Bucknell, Villanova, Penn State, Maryland and Delaware," he said, "That combined with a strong engineering program convinced me to come here."
Potential students who have the opportunity to visit the campus also attribute their decision to the hospitality of the faculty.
Catherine Moubray, a first-year student from Florida, auditioned for Mason Gross before making her decision to attend the University.
"The faculty was so warm and welcoming on audition day, which can be an incredibly stressful day for anyone," she said. "I am very happy I chose Rutgers. After having almost two full weeks of classes, it seems to be exactly what I was looking for."
The University communicates with about 200,000 prospects - 100,000 high school juniors and 100,000 sophomores - by e-mail, linking students to information on the admissions Web site and by regular mail each year, according to undergraduate admissions.
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