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Ruston was electric Thursday.

As satellite trucks swarmed around Joe Aillet Stadium, waiting to broadcast the nationally televised football game against Tulane, thousands of additional visitors explored the various educational and extracurricular opportunities offered to students at Louisiana Tech.

And students, faculty and staff welcomed all with open arms.

Nearly 2,200 students and parents packed Louisiana Tech’s Quad for Time Out for Tech

This was the fall edition of “Time Out for Tech,” which turned out to be the biggest such recruiting event in the university’s history. Almost 1,200 prospective students arrived for the day-long event, along with 1,000 parents and guests. Visitors walked through various parts of the campus, learned about financial aid and a wide variety of degree programs, Bulldog cheers and traditions, and visited with academic departments.

“We ran out of room,” said Andy Cline, director of orientations at Tech. “Students want to come to Tech because we are a bright spot in north Louisiana and in the nation. We’re in the news, and students know what we can offer here.”

Natalie Perry, a senior high school student from Pineville, said she knew Tech was the place for her.

“This is where I want to go to school,” she said. “I feel like this is the best school in Louisiana.”

Natalie and her mother, Lorraine Perry, said they felt Time Out for Tech answered many of their questions – including, for Natalie, where else she might want to attend.

“I asked her where else she wanted to tour, and she said nowhere,” Lorraine Perry said.

Student orientation leaders visited with guests and passed out water and popsicles to students and visitors who were then greeted with the Big Tech Welcome by Tech President Les Guice under the trees in the Quad.  Despite the event being held on a weekday, Cline said that’s when many of the students and their parents wanted to come. The event is usually held on Saturday, but when it was held during the week back in March, Cline said he received helpful responses.

“This is an opportunity to see the campus alive,” he said. “We did a ‘preview day’ back in March like this, and the parents enjoyed getting to see the campus alive. That was our pitch and slogan for this event, and I am ecstatic by the response.”

Louisiana Tech also shared with students and parents the unique opportunities and value that it offers as a result of its Tier One National University ranking from U.S. News & World Report and its position as one of the nation’s best universities for return on investment and high median starting salaries for graduates, according to Affordable Colleges Online and PayScale.com respectively.

Following their tours of campus, information sessions with faculty and staff and other campus and student life activities, the students and their parents made their way to Joe Aillet Stadium to cheer on the Bulldogs and further immerse themselves in Louisiana Tech’s student life and traditions.

Dr. Jim King, vice president for student affairs, also credited the large event attendance to students looking at Tech’s credentials and finding out how well the university is excelling.

“The reputation of this institution is well-known,” King said. “This is an individual decision for students. What Tech offers and what appeals to students who visit is a comfortable atmosphere with big time Tier One university resources.”

Cline said the reactions he heard from parents, guests and prospective students were positive, despite the heat.

“We’re the Tech family – it truly is important,” Cline said. “We want everyone to feel special.”

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