Now that the national title has been secured and the toilet paper is gone, another Auburn recruitment process has a few things to say.
This year the Office of University Scholarships has restructured its out-of-state academic scholarships to keep up with growing demand and to preserve funding for future academic recruits.
There are three levels of academic scholarships offered to out-of-state students: presidential, heritage and charter.
Calvin Davis, sophomore from Beaumont, Texas, decided to come to Auburn after being offered an Auburn academic scholarship at the presidential level.
"I got the letter, and then I visited and knew it was cool and that I wanted to go," Davis said.
In the past, scholarships at the presidential level awarded full tuition. Beginning fall 2011, the scholarship will cover two-thirds of tuition. Up to $5,500 in additional benefits is also offered at this level.
Scholarships at the heritage level will continue to award two-thirds of tuition. The only difference between the heritage and presidential levels is that only presidential scholars receive the $5,500 of additional benefits, including a technology stipend.
Scholarships at the charter level award $5,000 per year. This amount was increased from $3,500.
Velda Rooker, director of University scholarships, said these changes will help recruit out-of-state students because the awards are now comparable to those given to in-state students.
The academic scholarships Auburn awards to in-state students are known as Spirit of Auburn scholarships and also fall into three categories: presidential, founders and university. The requirements are the same for in-state and out-of-state applicants.
"It leveled that playing field a little bit," Rooker said. "We want out-of-state students to be grateful that they got to that two-thirds mark which reduced their tuition rate to that of an in-state student."
Kelsey Hayes, sophomore from Centre, Ala., was awarded a Spirit of Auburn scholarship at the founders level.
"It's cool because I'm going to be able to study abroad next spring," Hayes said. "And I took karate class. I also took a class on hunger. I've been able to take classes that I wouldn't have normally taken."
These aren't the first changes that have been made to these scholarships. Prior to 2008, Auburn did not offer full tuition scholarships to out-of-state students.
The presidential level scholarship for out-of-state students was added in 2008.
This created a boost in recruitment, but would not have been able to keep up as tuition continues to increase.
"When we award those scholarships, we award them for four years so you've got to fund them for four years. They keep pace with whatever tuition is and the expectation is that it's going to increase every year," Rooker said.
Creating balance between in-state and out-of-state scholarships will help Auburn continue to attract residents while encouraging out-of-state students to give Auburn a second glance, and a better chance to get their tuition paid.
"I'm forced to work harder in classes I don't want to be in," Davis said. "I didn't consider Auburn before that letter."
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