Abundance of freshmen overflow into Bobcat

An unexpected overflow of freshmen this semester exceeded the target number of 950 freshmen by approximately 8 percent, increasing the class to approximately 1,030.

Director of Admissions Mike Augustine said he expects some registered students to drop classes or otherwise choose not to attend the university.

An increasing interest in GC&SU may be a contributing factor to the steadily growing number of students who decide to accept offers from the university.

“More and more students are looking at us as their first choice,” Augustine said. “(GC&SU) is Georgia’s public version of a private school and that has really struck a chord with Georgia’s families.”

University Housing dealt with the overflow by placing 31 freshmen at the new Phase II of Bobcat Village.

Director of University Housing Dr. Paul Jahr said Bobcat Village was both a logical and economical solution for the university’s unexpectedly high population of freshmen.

“It’s a special situation,” Jahr said. “The students are maintaining their on campus room and board and have a required meal plan.”

Jahr said freshmen at Bobcat Village are all located in the 600 East building on the second floor to help create a first-year experience for the students.

These students maintained the same on-campus room and board contracts that are required for on-campus residents. The contract is a 9 month contract instead of the 12 month contract offered by Bobcat Village, and requires the purchase of a meal plan.

Freshmen are under the supervision of sophomore Ben Cornelius, who is doubling as both a community assistant and a resident assistant.

Cornelius is responsible for resident assistant duties similar to those of RAs in on-campus residence halls, such as organizing events for his students. He has additional duties such as assisting Bobcat staff in the Bobcat Village office and sharing “on duty” hours with other community assistants to cater to students’ immediate needs.

“I originally wanted to be on campus so I could have more interaction as a whole,” Cornelius said. “But here I get a whole apartment to myself and it was something new.”

Freshman Justin Whitehead currently lives at Bobcat Village. He said he was also initially disappointed about not having the opportunity to experience life in residence halls but now enjoys Bobcat Village.

“It was really good news,” Whitehead said. “It’s been great out here, but it’s a little harder to meet people.”

Augustine said adjustments will have to be made before next year to prevent another significant overflow.

The number of students who accept the university’s offer for admission has increased approximately three percent since last year and is now just over 50 percent.

“Next year is going to have to be a bit more stringent,” Augustine said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 2 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry