Colorado appeal draws non-residents

With a stagnant economy and ever increasing tuition rates, CSU

still manages to have a sizeable draw to out-of-state students

wishing to receive their education.

“I originally came here as a pre-vet major because they have one

of the best programs in the country,” said Timothy Eldredge, an

agricultural economics major from Indiana. “Though I changed my

major I decided to stay here because of the laid-back Coloradoan

atmosphere and accessibility to snowboarding.”

Out-of-state students registered at 8,211 persons for the

2002-2003 school year, which makes up 22 percent of the

undergraduate population.

“I decided to pick CSU for college because Colorado just has one

of those reputations as being a real easy-going state where people

are polite and helpful,” said junior Nick Lettin, a construction

management major. “I love where I’m from (Oregon), but the

snowboarding season here is second to none.”

The top five states, according to 2002-2003 school

administration records, that feed into CSU are Texas with 393

students, Illinois with 347 students, California with 318, New

Mexico with 171 students and Nebraska with 137 students.

“We have a history of success with students from those states,

so our reputation builds throughout because of word of mouth,” said

Keith Ickes, associate vice president for Administrative Services.

“We expect to see an increase in student population from California

because their options are limited due to state school cuts… Plus,

we are pretty inexpensive for non-residents.”

According to administrative records, tuition for non-residents

is approximately $11,925 a year and out-of-state students filter

into five predominant majors; 765 in liberal arts, 646 in natural

sciences, 639 in intra-university, 541 in applied human sciences

and 418 in agricultural sciences.

“This place is so much more versatile in possible activities to

participate in than Arizona, not to mention its beauty,” said

Garrett Haberman, a sophomore health and exercise major. “I

couldn’t imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t chosen

CSU.”