Choosing what college or university to attend is a decision most high school seniors have to make, and many students at Ames High School last year chose to stay close to home by attending Iowa State.

“At the end of the year, every senior fills out an informational sheet, and they indicate where they are going to college if they go,” said Janet Olsen, secretary for student services at Ames High. “By using those numbers, we can get an idea of who goes where.”

Based on those informational sheets, the largest number of Ames High college-bound seniors chose to attend ISU, followed by the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

About 380 students graduated from Ames High in 1998, Olsen said. Out of that number, 104 planned to attend ISU in the fall, 39 chose U of I and six chose UNI.

In 1997, 94 graduating seniors picked ISU, 43 chose U of I, and 11 went to UNI, Olsen said.

Joe Skluzacek, sophomore in management information systems from Ames, said price was the main factor in his decision to attend ISU.

“I was being recruited for golf at various schools, and they were all offering to pay about half of the tuition,” he said. “But when you look at a school whose tuition is $20,000, and they only pay half, it just doesn’t compare to the in-state tuition I can pay at ISU.”

Kelly Hallihan, freshman in elementary education from Ames, did not expect to go to school at ISU.

“I always knew it was an option but not a serious one,” she said.

Amber Engelen, freshman in biology from Ames, said ISU was not her first choice.

“If I didn’t live here it would have been my first, but being an Ames resident made me think twice about ISU,” she said. “I love Ames and the atmosphere, but I wasn’t sure about going to school here.”

However, Engelen said she now thinks ISU is perfect for her.

“I think it’s the best school in the state,” she said.

Most students from Ames said living in their hometown is a benefit, not a downfall.

“I knew all the good things about ISU before I came here, and I knew I would be able to get away,” Hallihan said. “It’s not as if you are here in Ames; ISU is almost a different part of the town.”

Skluzacek said he had no problems with staying in the town he grew up in.

“My parents moved from Ames after I graduated, so they aren’t really here anymore,” he said.

Engelen said she probably hadn’t been home for a month.

“For me, the only difference is that I can go home to do my laundry or to get babied when I’m sick,” she said.