Texas State, a rising destination for prospective students

By: Victoria Marin

With an enrollment of 36,790 for the 2014 fall semester, Texas State has set a record-high for the 17th consecutive year.

A 3.5 percent increase of student enrollment from last year has made Texas State the fourth-largest university in the state, according to a press release from Denise M. Trauth, president of Texas State.

Jenah Stephenson Photo by: Kiersten Ehr

Texas State has become a top destination for prospective students and has announced the most diverse student body in the school’s history, according to a University News Service press release, thus turning the university into a “melting pot” of students with minorities making up 46 percent of the student body.

"Texas State is the right size; it feels like I actually matter here," said
Jenah Stephenson, a communications studies major whose decision to attend Texas State was affected by the size.

Hispanic enrollment increased approximately 9 percent and African-American enrollment increased more than 19 percent.

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

Candace Jackson Photo by: Natalie Walther

Joshua Hinojosa

As Trauth said, the growth poses some challenges; students on campus have voiced some of these challenges, which pertain to registration, traffic and limitation of resources.

“When it comes time for registration, not only do you have to wait behind all these people to wait for a class, there is a very high change you won’t even get into the class because of the amount of people who are trying to take it as well,” said junior Joshua Hinojosa.

The growth has limited student resources, such as the campus REC, disabling students from taking advantage of these resources, according to junior Candace Jackson.

Stephanie Dibert Photo by: Sarah Bey

Josh Mitchell Photo by: Kiersten Ehr

Despite these concerns, students still believe the university should continue to grow. 

Growth in a city also means more business in the future, according to junior Stephanie Dibert. 

"We have one of the best geography programs in the state, one of the best business programs in the state, we have a lot of good programs here," said senior Josh Mitchell. "If we continue to grow, we continue to improve on those programs."

Leanne Halliburton Photo by: Roy Zorola

Growth also means more people to interact with. 

"It’s always good to have a bigger alumni network and donor base and just generally grow the community," said education major, Leanne Halliburton.

With a rapid growth of applicants, Texas State is expected to continue expanding.