Bear with me here. I live in NY and want to share my kids’ (current UGA students) college search/decisions stories (don’t worry there is some crapping on Florida) as an example/analogy of what seems to be happening during the same time with the UGA brand on the recruiting front.
Many of you have probably been in/around Athens for so long, I suspect you may not realize (or have forgotten) just how easy it is to instantly fall in love the first time you visit UGA. In January of 2015, when my daughter was a junior in HS, she decided she wanted to escape NY winters (she’s smart) and go to school down south and to an SEC school for the football games and school spirit, etc.
She always said her first choice was UF and as we were planning a trip to visit the school, I explained to her that UGA seemed to have everything she was looking for so we should stop off to visit Athens on the way. As most teenagers assume their parents don’t know anything, she resisted – she knew nothing about UGA or Athens and knew no one that had ever gone there. She was so excited to see UF and we planned to be there for a few days, but first we would stop off in Athens for one night (maybe 22hrs total) in Athens beforehand. Well, just like on the recruiting trail – get them on campus! She (and I) fell in love with UGA and Athens! She got into both schools, but there was no decision - She was a Dawg and a Gator-hater! She is now a rising UGA Senior and is beyond obsessed with UGA and cannot imagine herself anywhere else.
My son (who graduated HS in 2018) didn’t even bother applying to UF. Similar to most blue-chip football recruits, UF didn’t make my Son’s Top 5! He’s now a rising sophomore at UGA and absolutely loves it! He’s only home a few weeks this summer, as he wants to be in Athens and live in the fraternity house instead (shocking I know).
UGA has been described as a “sleeping giant” that Kirby has been fully waking up and at the same time, and I suspect in large measure because of the national spotlight from football (google “the Flutie Effect”), kids from coast to coast are applying to the school. The number of applications for admission has been rising steadily each year since 2015, including significant increases of out-of-state applications and states like California and New York are now among the top 10 states represented by UGA’s classes. Of course, this is all leading to more and more competitive (academic) classes each year. My daughter’s class (entering in 2016) was UGA’s most competitive ever and each year since has surpassed the prior.
Like football recruiting, UGA is academically becoming more selective and talented and drawing talent from all over the country. Great time (and times ahead) to be a Dawg!
