FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saint Mary’s College Participates in Indiana Private College Week
Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
(574) 284-4579
July 20, 2011 (Notre Dame, Ind.)— Summer is a favorite time for college prospects and their families to visit institutions they are interested in attending. Survey research conducted by Stamats, a higher education marketing consultant, indicates prospective students plan to visit an average of five institutions before November of their senior year in high school. And, time and again, the campus visit is cited as a key factor in their final decision.
“At Saint Mary’s, over 90% of the students enrolling here had visited our campus,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management Mona Bowe. “That shows the power of the campus visit. Prospective students have to feel comfortable with their decision on where to study. It is the backdrop of what will be their college experience. What sells them is not just the tree-lined Avenue when they pull on to campus or the manicured lawns or the new and historic buildings; it’s the faculty they meet here and the programs that fit their interests, and it’s the heritage of the Congregation of the Holy Cross to educate the minds and the hearts of the women here that makes Saint Mary's College stand out.”
Next week—Monday, July 25 through Friday, July 29—Saint Mary’s College will join the 30 other private, non-profit institutions across the state in welcoming prospects and their parents to campus. Governor Mitch Daniels declared it Indiana Private College Week. In his proclamation, Daniels cites the productivity of Indiana’s private sector of higher education, which produces 35% of the state’s bachelor’s degrees and boasts higher graduation rates than public universities. The private colleges and universities also offer more personal attention (11 students to one professor at Saint Mary’s) and more leadership opportunities than the state’s public institutions. It is the first time that Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) put on the week.
Indiana Private College Week is about more than just a campus visit. Saint Mary’s and other ICI institutions want prospects to learn about opportunities to finance their education. There are often pre-conceived notions about the cost of a private education based solely on the published tuition rates. More than 90% of Saint Mary's students receive some form of financial aid.
“The ‘sticker price’ of a college education today varies greatly and the actual price paid by individual students varies even more widely,” says Saint Mary’s College President Carol Ann Mooney. “When students and their parents compare college tuitions, they may not realize that private institutions devote a large percentage of their budgets to financial aid. The end result is that, for some students, the cost of attending a private college or university is actually lower than that of attending a public university. In addition, the benefits of personal attention and close faculty/student working relationships that are possible at a small school last a lifetime.”
Prospects might also consider the number of years they will pay tuition. The four-year graduation rate for combined ICI institutions is 59% (compared with 30% at state institutions). At Saint Mary’s, 93% of students who graduate from Saint Mary’s get their degree in four years.
Next week, Saint Mary’s College will offer tours daily at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Admission counselors will be available to meet with the students. Saint Mary’s regularly offers a variety of campus visit options including Fall and Spring Days on campus and Senior preview days.
Visitors between the ages of 16 and 20 touring one or more ICI campuses during Indiana Private College Week will have the chance to enter a drawing for an Apple iPad. Entry forms and rules will be available at each campus.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering bachelor’s degrees in more than 30 major areas of study. The College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the nation's top liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report's 2009 annual survey. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.