Some prospective Commonwealth Campus students got an unexpected phone call last week.

In the University's effort to market the Commonwealth Campuses, the University Park Admissions Office held a phone-a-thon March 17 and 19 to familiarize potential students with three campuses.

It was the first time University Park students called prospective high school students, said Mark Meckstroth, campus liaison and phone-a-thon coordinator.

During the phone-a-thon, 25 students called 289 high school seniors accepted to Beaver, McKeesport and New Kensington campuses. The callers had attended those campuses but are now at University Park.

Meckstroth called the event a "friendly outreach program."

The phone-a-thon was successful, he said, but the real success will be determined by the number of students who actually go to those campuses next year.

Donna Doyle (junior-civil engineering) -- who attended the Beaver Campus and participated in the program --said she hoped the program answered students' questions about Beaver Campus.

"It might have a positive impact," she said. "I think I made them think about it a lot."