Top-ranking high school graduates are giving Cal State San Bernardino a fresh look, and some an only look, as rising tuition fees price many out of the more prestigious universities that try to recruit them.

Sixteen San Bernardino County high school students who graduated in the top 1 percent of their classes accepted $20,000 scholarships to the San Bernardino campus this fall and spring. Only six accepted last year -- the first time the full-ride scholarship was offered.

The $5,000-a-year renewable scholarships cover tuition and fees over four years for some students. The six students who accepted the President's Academic Excellence Scholarship in 2002 return to school this week as sophomores.

The merit-based scholarship program represents a growing effort by Cal State San Bernardino to draw the county's elite high school graduates while maintaining the campuses' egalitarian standards for admission.

Stepped-up recruitment

The University of California system of 10 campuses has historically guaranteed admission to the top one-eighth of the state's high school graduates. The less selective Cal State system has promised to admit the top one-third of graduates at one of its 23 campuses. However, those promises may be obsolete as budget cuts force caps on enrollment.

Lois Madsen, Cal State financial aid director, said Cal State San Bernardino stepped up recruitment of the more sought-after students this year.

"We've gotten better at promoting ourselves," she said by phone. "These students are being courted because they've been talented for a long time. People have been looking at them for years."

Frank Rincon, vice president of student affairs, said the scholarship program drew more students this year because families recognize "greater quality" at the 17,000-student campus in San Bernardino. "We're maturing and becoming much better known for our programs," he said.

Madsen said: "Maybe the message is getting out that we're not what you thought. Just because we're the hometown school doesn't mean we're second class."

Location is a plus too

The university's proximity convinced some parents and students to take the scholarship, officials said.

"With costs going up around California, families may be comparing the cost of going far away for school," Rincon said by phone.

Madsen said parents don't feel financially secure in this weak economy.

"Some parents have mentioned uncertainty of their own jobs and wanting to keep their kids close to home," she said.

This summer, a 30 percent tuition hike boosted the average undergraduate cost to $2,500 annually at Cal State. In the UC system, tuition costs rose to $5,247 a year. Private universities can cost $35,000 to $40,000 annually.

Some of the 16 freshmen who received the scholarships said they declined offers from more selective California public universities and private colleges. The schools sweetened offers with promises of partial scholarships.

It wasn't enough for Laura Thompson, a top graduate at Chaffey High School in Ontario. She took many advanced placement courses and graduated with a weighted 4.5 grade point average. She was recruited by UCR, University of La Verne and University of Southern Virginia, she said.

The other California universities offered no feasible option, even with bids to pay some expenses through scholarships and the state's Cal Grant program, Thompson said by phone. Her parents plan to send five children to college, she said. Only one parent, a school district project manager, works outside the home, she said.

"I don't know if I would have been able to afford to go to any college if the offer wasn't there at Cal State San Bernardino," said Thompson, 18.

Rising tuition fees made Cal State more attractive, said Teresa Billhardt of Yucaipa, whose son Charles received the President's Scholarship to Cal State San Bernardino.

Billhardt, a working mother of five children, with two in college and another entering next year, is paying back fees owed to Crafton Hills College since tuition increased last summer.

"It's going to be tight this year," Billhardt, an instructional aide and wife of a sales representative, said by phone. "Good thing Charles got this. It's going to cover most of his books and tuition. And it's nice to have him close to home. He can drive to school."

Parents and students said they were impressed by programs offered at Cal State and the personal recruiting, especially by President Albert Karnig.

The university recruits the high-achieving students through an annual dinner, co-sponsored by The Press-Enterprise, that honors those in the top 1 percent of their class.

300 top seniors

This year, the San Bernardino County banquet drew 300 of the top high school seniors. Of those, 16 students accepted the full-ride scholarship. The scholarship money comes from Karnig's fund-raising efforts, which have exceeded $1 million, Rincon said.

The personal outreach appealed to Billhardt, whose son Charles will start a freshman pre-med program this week. "We felt that the professors we talked to and the president were very interested in helping children reach their goals," she said.

Kiersten Hinckley, 18, a graduate of A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, said she wanted to pay her own way through college, but didn't want to have to depend on her job at Wendy's. "I wanted to get as big a scholarship as I could," she said by phone.

Though she wanted to study away from home, Hinckley turned down less financially attractive offers from UC Davis, Brigham Young University and Cal State Long Beach.

A campus visit convinced her that money isn't the only thing that Cal State San Bernardino offers. "Everyone says that the UCs are so much better academic-wise. I did consider that," Hinckley said. "I've been talking to people at Cal State, and there doesn't seem to be that much of a difference."

Reach Ellen Braunstein at (909) 806-3055 or ebraunstein@pe.com.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Freshmen and sophomores receiving the President's Academic Excellence Scholarship at Cal State San Bernardino in 2003 and their high schools.

Freshmen:

Cristi Hardesty, Fontana High School.

Elizabeth Brunelle and Laura Thompson, Chaffey High School, Ontario.

Malaina Johnson, Victor Valley High School, Victorville.

Shane Olguin, Barstow High School.

Andrea Brandt, Rim of the World High School, Lake Arrowhead.

Charles Billhardt, Yucaipa High School.

Kiersten Hinckley, A.B. Miller High School, Fontana.

Michael Manzo and Brenda Quintero, Colton High School.

Amber Schooley, Yucca Valley High School.

Rachel Ferguson, Eisenhower High School, Rialto.

Brandi Harper and Ashley Stewart, Upland Christian High School.

Erica Torner, Redlands East Valley High School.

Adriana Cachua, Rialto High School.

Returning sophomores:

Tanya Zeferjahn and Megan Robinson, Hesperia High School.

Georgia Pallas, Serrano High School, Phelan.

Gabriel Mueck, A.B. Miller High School, Fontana.

Megan Robinson, Hesperia High School.

Audra Wise, Sultana High School, Hesperia.