‘UTA made me feel special’
Diane Basio plans to study broadcasting when she begins attending The University of Texas at Arlington in the fall as a Terry Scholar. But before even stepping on campus, she has already received a welcoming reception and in-home visit from UTA Office of Admissions staff.
“It was really fun, exciting and friendly,” said Basio, who is from Irving. “I got to talk with them about my experiences and goals. Then the staff shared with me helpful hints of what’s in store for me at UTA.”
The home visits began in 2020 in Arlington and Mansfield for high school students who missed out on typical recruitment events due to the pandemic. It proved popular, so the program expanded last summer and continued this year to include students from North Texas.
About 50 Mavericks received home visits in recent months from the UTA’s admissions and enrollment team, a personalized touch for some of the best students in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That includes valedictorians, salutatorians, National Merit Scholars, National Hispanic Recognition Program scholars, African American Achievement scholars, National Indigenous scholars and Terry Scholars like Basio.
She is the third Basio sister to be named a Terry Scholar and the second to receive a home visit from UTA admissions team members. Last summer, UTA staffers visited one of her sisters, Alexandra, a high school valedictorian. The Terry Foundation selects scholarship recipients based on demonstrated leadership, academic achievement and financial need.
“High school ended kind of strangely for me, as we never went back to campus after spring break due to COVID,” said Alexandra Basio, currently a UTA sophomore studying accounting. “I had always wanted to go to UTA, and getting the home visit was really cool because I didn’t have any of those high school senior events. I felt like that UTA actually cared and made me feel special.”
Diane Basio said she considered other schools, but “deep down, it’s still important to find the right fit for my own path—and that was at UTA.”
“When we meet with these high-caliber incoming freshmen, we know we are meeting a student who represents the best balance of successfully challenging themselves academically and providing servant leadership,” said Rebecca Lothringer, UTA’s associate vice president of enrollment management.
UT Arlington admissions staff drove as far as two hours away from campus to personally usher in new Mavericks, visiting homes, apartments and ranches.
“The students have been shocked that we are actually coming to their homes,” said Anam Iqbal, associate director of undergraduate admissions. “These students have achieved so much academically and have many college options. Since they are choosing UTA, we want them to know we are just as excited as them.”
The visits involve the entire family, as incoming freshmen share the excitement with their appreciative parents and siblings, even taking pictures with UTA staff. Iqbal recalled how one mother became emotional for her youngest son, the first in the family to go to college.
“She told us ‘Please take care of my son’ and called us angels,” Iqbal said.