Raider County Feeder Schools | Graphic by Dylan Collison | The Wright State Guardian
As the incoming class of 2025 begins committing to their universities of choice, recent data shows that the majority of Wright State University's (WSU) top feeder schools are from the Dayton-Miami area. Many students, including transfer students, who commit to WSU say that the affordability and program options are some of their top deciding factors in choosing a university.
WSU Connections to Local K-12 Schools
In the last three consecutive years, the top ten feeder high schools all come from a region known as Raider Country, a bubble of nearby cities and districts that surround WSU.
“While many international and out-of-state students come to live in and love the Dayton region, most of our students hail from the region we call Raider Country, wanting the convenience of a nearby, accessible university offering countless opportunities to gain hands-on experience with our industry, military, education, health care, and research partners,” Interim Chief Recruitment and Admissions Officer Jen McCamis said in a Board of Trustees meeting earlier this academic year.
In a presentation given at the same Board of Trustees meeting, McCamis stated that 748 first-year students at WSU were scholarship recipients, and 34% of first-year students were Pell Grant recipients.
“Wright State’s work with local K-12 schools and community colleges is extensive and on-going. It is built upon strong and evolving relationships rooted in Wright State’s effort to continually reach out to districts and ask them what their students’ specific needs are of Wright State,” WSU Director of Communications Seth Bauguess said.
The top three colleges within WSU that first-year students study within are the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Engineering & Computer Science and the College of Science & Math.
Transfer Students
Along with WSU’s efforts to work with local K-12 schools, the university also offers pathways with other local colleges in order to aid students in receiving their degree.
“The Wright Path double degree program with Sinclair formalizes links between Wright State and Sinclair to provide seamless student movement between the institutions. Goals include improving academic program articulation, promoting degree completion and using resources at both institutions efficiently,” Bauguess said. “Similar pathway programs with Clark State, Edison State and others help support an invaluable Wright State community college network.”
A large portion of transfer students in recent years are local, with over 500 students receiving scholarships and 36% receiving the pell grant their first year.
“I chose Wright State because it was closer to home and I was a single mother when I transferred from Sinclair,” WSU transfer student Sandra Fox said. “I am happy with that decision and very glad to have made the friends I have so far during my time here”.
Fox is only a few semesters away from graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in Crime and Justice Studies.
