Enrollment Increase

Enrollment increase

By Madison Moreno

Texas State has a fast growing student body. A letter from President Denise M. Trauth said that, “Our preliminary enrollment figure this fall topped 36,700 students and represents a roughly 3.5 percent increase from a year ago.” This increase would rank the university as the fourth-largest in the state of Texas.

 President Trauth also said, “Although our growth poses some space challenges, what's also telling is that Texas State has become a top destination among prospective college students.”

Sarah Rule
Photo by: Madison Moreno 

Freshman from San Antonio, Sarah Rule said that the increased enrollment didn’t have an effect on her decision to come here, “my mind had been made up for awhile, I didn’t know about the enrollment size but I did like how it was smaller in size compared to Texas A&M or UT.”

Jennah Stephenson

Others like Jennah Stephenson say that the increase "has made me more proud of my school. It shows we are a really good institution, more people want to come here each year. I think San Marcos will keep it humble instead of being like UT because it is a big city. I like the fact that the school is a small school, and I love watching it expand," said Jenah Stephenson, communication studies major at Texas State.

Candace Jackson
Photo by: Natalie Walther

While the challenges may seem miniscule to some, others are not big fans. Candace Jackson, a junior from Dallas, Texas said that, “It made parking way too expensive. It made traffic in the small town of San Marcos way too unbearable. It made resources at the school limited, like the rec, you cant go at certain times because there will be no machines.”  

Josh Mitchell
Photo by: Fabi Marroquin

Although the recent influx in construction is going to better the city and campus, its hard to think that way as of now. "Things have been more crowded. There is a lot more construction to compensate for this rapid increase of enrollment,” said Josh Mitchell, senior at Texas State. 

In the total realm of things what this city has to offer is astounding and the growth of it can only better it all in the end. "I think that we have our own little slice of heaven here.  I love everything about this town. Except for all this darn construction. I do think that once it gets done it will be awesome!" said Darby Walker, student at Texas State. No matter the situation there will always be pros and cons. Texas State is really living up to its "rising star of Texas" name.