WAVERLY, Iowa — The annual recruiting effort featured the expected tour, conversations with faculty and a question-and-answer session with Wartburg College students. The admissions staff, however, also had a surprise for high school students on campus this week.

The visitors received a glossy magazine directed at the prospective Knights, and the cover of each featured the recipient’s own face. Photographs were taken during registration.

Lynnette Yossi, a parent from Dallas Center, thought the personalized effort was a nice touch. She visited Wartburg on Wednesday with her daughter, Ashton.

“They try, I think, to really make you fit in,” Lynnette Yossi said.

Their visit to Wartburg fell during Iowa Private College Week, which ends Friday. The 29 participating colleges and universities in the state encourage high school juniors and seniors to tour as many campuses as possible.

“It’s helpful,” Ashton Yossi said. “Kind of gives you the variety of different schools.”

As of Wednesday, she had visited three schools and planned to check out two more.

The week isn’t the only way colleges attract new students but it is an important tool for Wartburg, said Todd Coleman, assistant vice president for admissions.

Each year since 2003, at least 500 students visit Wartburg during the competitive recruiting initiative. Of those, almost 40 percent decide to enroll, Coleman said.

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