The numbers wonât be finalized for a few more weeks, but we anticipate an excellent report regarding our enrollment this fall. And believe it or not, we are set to begin actively recruiting our 2022 class of first-year Vandals. We need you and your Vandal experience to help us. Iâm pleased to be able to join our strategic enrollment management team at several high schools around the state in the coming weeks. Our message to high school students centers on the value of a college education. Over a lifetime, a college graduate earns $1.2 million more, on average, than individuals who do not attend college. College graduates also live longer, healthier lives â nine years longer on average. They also contribute more to their communities â a testament to the land-grant mission. In Idaho, we need more young people to hear this message. Idahoâs go-on rate (the number of high school seniors that started college in the fall after graduation) was just 38 percent in 2020. Part of that low number is related to the pandemic, but it continues a four-year trend of decreases in Idahoâs go-on rate. And in 2019, Idahoâs go-on rate of 45 percent was well below the national rate of 66 percent. Please join me in encouraging high school students to explore higher education and to check out the University of Idaho. - We are ranked the No. 1 Best Value in the West for Public Universities by U.S. News and World Report.
- We provide more than $30 million in scholarships and waivers annually, more than any other Idaho institution.
- More than 200 employers recruit U of I students through on-campus career fairs each year.
- U of I grads have the highest average starting and mid-career salaries of any public school in the state, according to Payscale.
If you know a high school student, share your experience at the U of I. Tell them to connect with an admissions counselor or plan a campus visit. And encourage them to explore all of their options for college. It may be a life-changing conversation. |