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Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009

UC Merced visitors taking a look at surrounding area

Vidhi Karanath, a senior at Lynbrook High School in San Jose, arrived in Merced with her father bright and early Monday morning on the last leg of a weeklong tour of college campuses.

Vidhi picked the campuses she wanted to visit. Her father, Arvind, drove her to each one. Merced made the travel itinerary because it was handy, they said.

"I just like the UC system and this is close to home," Vidhi said, before embarking on an hourlong tour of the campus.

The Karanaths represent one small portion of visitors to UC Merced since Sept. 1.

More than 20,000 people came to UC Merced last year as part of tour groups or special recruitment and open house events, college officials said.

Just over 12,000 visitors scheduled tours at the campus visitor's center, and another 2,700 attend special events, such as Bobcat Day, an open house for admitted students in April, and Preview Day, an open house for the general public in October. Special tours by school and community groups, and visitors on Parents' Weekend make up the difference.

"We're getting lots of interest. And we're actually drawing a fair number of prospective students through the county and the city," Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management Kevin Browne said. "The number has been going up ever since the campus opened."

The total number of visitors -- more 22,000, Browne said -- rounds out to eight per student enrolled last academic year. That doesn't include an influx of 12,000 visitors for first lady Michelle Obama's commencement address in May.

Fast-forward, and if education excursionists continue to turn out in the same numbers over time (8.09 visitors for each student), Merced could play host to more than 202,000 visitors each year when the campus reaches its capacity of 25,000 students.

Browne said the numbers are an economic boon to the area, with prospective students and parents asking about restaurants, hotels for visits and places to live during their visits to campus.

"They're at least getting food and gas," he said. "And I would say about 25 to 30 percent of them ask about hotels to stay the night."

Karen Baker, director of city of Merced Visitors Services, said her office has also seen a lot of interest from visitors to UC Merced.

"We've had quite a few people come through," Baker said. "When they are interested in UC Merced, we encourage them to visit all of our area attractions, to look at our whole area, see what we have to offer and fall in love with the community."

And while the city encourages visitors to head out to the campus, UC Merced reciprocates.

"We're trying to tell folks what else there is to do in Merced that day," Browne said. "Our goal is for students to figure out whether they will be happy in Merced. It is an important decision."

In February 2008, the campus opened a visitors center near Lake Road to accommodate the growing number of tour reservations. Browne estimated that the number of people touring campus increased by 4,000 due to the increased capacity and new outreach programs.

While Browne is happy with the growth of visitors to campus, he said there was no way to predict whether growth would continue.

"It's an inelegant science (to calculate campus visitors)," Browne said. He worries that large tours organized by schools or parent groups will decrease because of the state budget crisis.

Vidhi, for one, said the tour encouraged her to apply to UC Merced.

"When we first arrived I thought, 'This is in the middle of nowhere,'" she said. "But now I like the campus. It is very nice, new."

UC Merced junior Maira Pulido led the Karanaths tour on Monday.

"We give the same tour every time," Pulido, a LeGrand native, said. "But you get to meet different people, so it is a very different experience for each one."

Still, one thing stays the same, she noted: "A lot of people ask where they should go eat."

Reporter Danielle Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.