University Communications
St. Mary's University
One Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio, Texas 78228

Lucha Ramey
Media Relations Director
ph: (210) 436-3327
fx: (210) 436-3711
lramey@stmarytx.edu

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St. Mary´s Registers Katrina Affected Students

Date: 2005-09-02     Author: S. Maloney

St. Mary’s University has registered six students, including two law students, from Hurricane Katrina devastated universities in the New Orleans area, as of Friday, Sept. 2.

The four displaced undergraduates who have been admitted include two students from Loyola in New Orleans along with two others from the University of New Orleans and Xavier, respectively. The two law students who enrolled are from Tulane and Loyola.

San Antonio-based St. Mary’s reopened registration exclusively for transient students from Gulf Coast colleges and universities ravaged by the storm this week. The special registration period is open through Thursday, Sept. 8. Admission counselors are available to work one-on-one with students in attending St. Mary’s. For more information, students or parents can call (210) 436-3126 or (800) 367-7868 and ask for Maria Ramos-Smalling in the Admissions Office.

St. Mary’s has received many phone calls from families of San Antonio area students attending New Orleans universities who were displaced by Katrina and want to continue their education, Suzanne Petrusch, St. Mary’s vice president for Enrollment Management said.

"We want to reach out to those students and accommodate as many as we can," Petrusch said. The number of displaced students that St. Mary’s can accommodate will depend on how much space is available in specific classes that they need to take, she said.

Petrusch noted that as a private university, St. Mary’s has no difference in tuition cost for in-state or out-of-state students. The staff will work with displaced students on an individual basis to reduce the cost of attendance this fall. Law students will be able to attend tuition free.

St. Mary’s will assist those students who cannot get their transcripts and other college documents.

St. Mary’s, founded by the Society of Mary in 1852, is the oldest Catholic university in Texas and the Southwest.

Classes for undergraduates began Aug. 23. The fall semester ends Dec. 16.