Piles of dirt and the groan of trucks have become familiar sights and sounds for current students, but that isn’t hindering the recruitment of prospective Horned Frogs, an admissions counselor said.While the middle of campus is consumed with construction, the admissions office is taking advantage of the opportunity to show prospective students the future of the campus, said Mike Mooneyham, admissions counselor and director of Monday at TCU.
“We’re making an investment in the future,” Mooneyham said.
Mooneyham said prospective students are seeing the positive side.
Kristen Hughes, a high school senior from Colorado, said she finds it appealing that, should she choose to attend TCU, her class would be one of the first to live in the new dorms.
With record application numbers, Mooneyham said the construction doesn’t seem to be having a negative effect.
“Sometimes lots of competitors are doing the same thing,” Mooneyham said. “It shows which administrations are looking to take the next step.”
Mooneyham said Monday at TCU participants are given a brochure explaining the construction and are shown a computer-generated fly-over video of the end result. Guides address the construction as students tour the Student Center and move past the new dorm sites.
As a tour guide, Tiffany Wang, a senior communications studies major, said she thinks the construction is a selling point for prospective students.
“We emphasize that change is good for us on campus,” Wang said. “The administration wants what is good for the students.”
When she gives tours, Wang said she makes a point to explain the model in the Student Center that depicts the completion of the current projects.
“I think it’s really exciting, and I think it’s going to attract a lot of new students,” Hughes said.
Freshman marketing major Tim Halperin said the prospect of new, state-of-the-art dorms and a student union appealed to him when considering colleges.
“When it’s complete, it’s going to look really cool,” Halperin said. “It’s something to look forward to.
