When Phillip Hamilton decided to apply to Auburn University to pursue his college dreams, he was in an unexpected place: Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Hamilton, now a freshman in computer science from Robertsdale, Ala., had traveled with friends to Tuscaloosa to attend his first football game. Amid the fanfare and atmosphere he realized he was ready for college. He had taken two gap years after high school to save as much money as possible and figure out what he wanted to study.

After he was accepted to Auburn, Hamilton was invited to visit campus through the Experience Auburn Program, which brings students with demonstrated financial need to the Plains for a full day of personalized meetings and tours to immerse them in the college atmosphere. Expenses for the day, including food and hotel costs, are covered by the program and students are given a $50 gift card at the end of the visit to reimburse their fuel expenses.

The idea for the program developed from an analysis of student enrollment data. Joffery Gaymon, Auburn’s vice president for enrollment management, noticed trends among prospective students who ultimately enrolled at the university and those who did not. The biggest factor? Whether or not the student made a trip to campus.

“There’s been a difference in the probability of a student who enrolled versus one who did not if they had the opportunity to visit Auburn,” Gaymon said. “Additional data indicated that students who were Pell Grant eligible or had other demonstrated financial needs were either not coming to campus or were not able to visit until later in the admissions cycle.”

Understanding these realities, Gaymon aimed to take concepts from other “high touch,” personalized student recruitment programs—like those created for student-athletes and the university’s Presidential Scholars—and remove the financial barriers associated with making a campus visit. The cost of travel and lodging can be cost prohibitive for some students and their families, especially factoring in the initial cost of college applications and other fees, Gaymon said.

Hamilton knew he wanted to attend Auburn and major in computer science—Auburn was the only university he applied to after high school—but he said asking questions and getting the specifics of the costs, coupled with access to student resources available through the university and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, made him sure that he was making the right decision for his future.

Making dreams a reality

Gaymon shared the idea for the program with Auburn’s Black Alumni Council in fall 2021, catching the attention of leaders in Auburn Advancement, the philanthropic fundraising arm of the university.

Just a few months later in February 2022, the Experience Auburn Program was one of the featured projects for Tiger Giving Day, the annual 24-hour digital fundraiser supporting initiatives across the university. Gaymon hoped to raise $15,000 to pilot the program quickly and the Auburn Family delivered, with 168 donors giving more than $28,000—almost double the initial goal.

“I’m thankful to each of the donors who supported Experience Auburn during Tiger Giving Day,” Gaymon said. “Their incredible response in helping make this idea a reality is truly what the Auburn Family represents—individuals uniting to create opportunities for future Auburn students.”

Beginning its third cycle in October 2023, the Experience Auburn Program is now hitting its stride. Prospective students participate by invitation, which is extended to high school juniors and seniors who have demonstrated financial need, are from a rural area or are first-generation college students.

“The students love it,” said Jan Miles, assistant director of the Personalized Visits Program that oversees the daily operations of Experience Auburn. “I’ve gotten an email from a participant who said it was the best day of her life. The prospective students really appreciate the personalized attention and getting to ride around on a golf cart on campus. It makes them feel really special.”

She said teams in departments across campus are eager to work with admissions as well because this is a way to collaboratively achieve a common goal: getting the brightest students to attend Auburn.

The program is also showing great results. In the first two admission cycles since the program began, 75 percent of students from the Experience Auburn Program have enrolled in the university.

Students like Na’kayla Hamlett, a freshman in pre-nursing from Birmingham. From personal experience, she knew she wanted to major in nursing so she could care for others. She also knew there were ideal organizations and resources in her college of choice: a chapter of the National Student Nurses’ Association, a Black Student Union and co-op opportunities for experiential learning.

Hamlett visited Auburn in summer 2022 through Tiger Takeoff, a student recruitment conference designed for rising high school seniors, but through Experience Auburn, she was able to see all the resources that would be available to her as a student.

“Having Jan talking with me one-on-one and setting up the visit for me really made me feel welcome on campus,” she said. “During the trip, I understood that Auburn had all the parts I was looking for in college, plus the valuable resources the university provides to help students succeed and faculty who are invested in helping students achieve their goals.”

So what does an Experience Auburn visit look like?

“We take each student on a walking tour of campus, then we transport them to meetings tailored to their personal interests and situations,” Miles said. “We communicate with the students throughout the admissions process, so when they’re invited to Experience Auburn, we have a good sense of how we should plan any individual student’s visit so they get all the information they need to decide if the university is the best fit for them.”

Miles said the day begins with a quick check-in at the Quad Center about the schedule, questions about the admissions process and scholarships. From there, participants go on a walking tour of campus with a student recruiter, visit campus housing and then take a personalized tour of the college that most interests them.

A student recruiter then joins the participant for lunch on campus before they head back to their college for a meeting with recruiting leaders who talk more in-depth about the major the prospective student is interested in. They even get into the details of the curriculum, internship/co-op experiences and career opportunities for graduates.

The day rounds out with a tour of the Auburn Recreation Center and a trip back to Quad Center, where the admissions team recaps the day.

“At the end of the day, the Experience Auburn student typically meets with our Enrollment Engagement Coordinator Katie Morgan, who goes over their personal information, scholarships and other details to give them an actual figure of what it will cost to attend Auburn,” Miles said. “Providing a specific figure and discussing options for them is helpful when they’re deciding if Auburn is the best fit.”