Cougar Connector, Breanna Jackson, leading a campus tour.
PULLMAN, Wash. – With two months still to be tabulated, Washington State University Pullman has already seen a record number of prospective students visit campus during 2012.
According to Ashley Safranski, WSU campus visit coordinator, 2,116 students visited WSU’s Welcome Center and taken campus tours since January. This is 31 more students than visited campus during all of 2011 and nearly 800 more students than visited in 2004 when such numbers began to be kept.
“Over the years we’ve definitely seen an increased interest in WSU,” said Safranski, who says the largest gains this year were made last spring. “We mainly had two types of students visit—seniors who were trying to decide between WSU and other schools, and juniors who were beginning to explore college options.”
The actual number of campus visitors is much larger. WSU does not track the number of parents or other guests that participate in the daily tours.
Safranski said WSU’s admissions counselors strongly encourage high school and transfer students to visit Pullman and the campus.
“Students may have an idea of what WSU is like,” said Safranski. “But it isn’t until they actually visit us that they get a real sense of family and community that we are known for.”
Ninety-minute tours of WSU Pullman are given twice a day, Monday through Friday, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Saturdays at 10 a.m. The tours are followed by a half-hour admissions presentation. Those interested in participating in a tour are encouraged to reserve a spot at http://visit.wsu.edu.