MACON, Ga. — Middle Georgia State University is one of many colleges welcoming new students this week.
"I love it,” MGA enrollee Shorell Jeter said. “It's my home away from home so it's where I would want to be even if I had the opportunity to choose somewhere else to go."
Universities across the country saw enrollment drop during the pandemic, but Middle Georgia State University Vice President for Enrollment Management Stephen Schultheis said those days are over.
"We are definitely back to pre-pandemic levels, if not exceeding right now," he said.
According to Schultheis, the university will bring in 2,400 new students this semester. This will bring the total for all five campuses to almost 8,500 students. He said that's close to a record for them.
One challenge this year is the new FAFSA Federal Student Aid application. Schultheis said this obstacle hasn't slowed enrollment, but some students' financial aid packages are delayed. Normally, by this point in the year, students know how much money they will receive.
"It's definitely a different energy going around this year, around financial aid, but we've put a lot of focus on it to support it," Schultheis said.
Some students said their college decision is about more than money. Freshman Alyssa Calhoun said she chose this school for several reasons.
"It was a mix of things, one of them being that I really didn't want to go out of state,” Calhoun said. “Another being that my mom went to this college, so I actually fell in love with it at a young age."
The idea of being a legacy student means a lot to her.
"It's very nostalgic because my mom was here when it was Macon State,” she said. “So now that I'm coming here when it's like Middle Georgia State University, it's just like ‘Oh my gosh.’ The progression over the years is just crazy."
The first day of class is Wednesday, Aug. 14.
Last year statewide enrollment at University System of Georgia schools climbed to a record-high of 344,000 students. That came after two years of declining enrollment presumably because of the COVID-19 pandemic.