The MTSU True Blue Tour, a longtime tradition as the university travels to recruit prospective students, will launch this year right here in Rutherford County on the Blue Raider campus.

Middle Tennessee State University invites potential students from public, private and home schools, to attend a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21, in the Student Union Ballroom, 1768 MTSU Blvd., in Murfreesboro. To register, visit www.mtsu.edu/rsvp. To find parking for the event, visit http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.

MTSU School of Music assistant professor Jennifer Vanatta-Hall, left, talks with a prospective student and her mother in 2017 during a True Blue Tour event. (MTSU file photo by John Goodwin)

Students and their family members from Rutherford, Bedford, Cannon, Warren and other adjacent counties are welcome.

The university plans to make Murfreesboro the first stop for the 14-city tour as the university travels across Tennessee and to Georgia, Alabama and Kentucky to recruit students for 2019 and beyond.

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee

“We are truly excited to be hosting a True Blue Tour stop in Murfreesboro,” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said. “It is quite fitting we launch the tour this year on our campus. I look forward to meeting and talking to another outstanding group of students and their parents as they consider becoming a part of our Blue Raider family.”

At the reception, prospective students and their parents will learn more about MTSU. They will meet and speak to administrators, students and staff, ask questions about financial aid, academic programs, housing, the Honors College and more. Potential transfer students also are welcome.

Attendees can enjoy light refreshments and register to win scholarships, certificates for an iPad, bookstore gift cards and other prizes.

Meanwhile, the Middle Tennessee Counselor/Community College staff luncheon will be held at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in the Student Union Ballroom. All area high school counselors and community college staff are welcome. To register, visit www.mtsu.edu/rsvp.

Along with upcoming campus preview day information for the fall, the complete True Blue Tour schedule for the other 13 stops will be announced soon. On Thursday (Aug. 2), MTSU mailed out more than 57,000 invitations to prospective students across the nation.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

MTSU College of Liberal Arts adviser Christina-Ann Graves, left, tells a prospective student about one of the programs available to her during a 2017 True Blue Tour stop. (MTSU file photo)