CHARLESTON, W.V. (AP) - West Virginia University is crediting media coverage and television exposure for a jump in student applications.
Enrollment director Brenda Thompson says applications are up by 16 percent over last year, with much of the new interest coming from New England. Applications from Connecticut are up the most, by about 46 percent.
Thompson tells the Charleston Daily Mail that applications from neighboring Pennsylvania - traditionally a big producer of WVU students - are up by 11 percent.
Thompson says media coverage about WVU's conference realignment may have helped boost interest, along with a fall broadcast of ESPN's College GameDay from Morgantown.
The number of in-state applications is also up, but Thompson says that 16 percent jump could be from a new automated system that lets West Virginians file applications faster.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
