Georgia Gwinnett College threw a party when it opened in August to welcome its first students — 118 juniors. The school will experience something different Aug. 20, when 3,000 students show up for classes.

"That's when we become a real college," said Daniel Kaufman, the college president.

JESSICA MCGOWAN/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)

Potential students and their families tour the facilities at Georgia Gwinnett College during a recent open house. The college is projecting 15,000 students by 2012.

The state's first new public four-year college in more than 100 years has been busy getting ready.

The college created a foundation to raise money for student scholarships and construction and renovation projects. College leaders also submitted an application for accreditation. They started building a new student parking deck and adding classroom space. They organized orientation activities for students and their parents. They ordered hats, T-shirts and coffee mugs bearing the school's name in its signature color, "Georgia Gwinnett Green."

And the college has been recruiting students for its first freshman class.

The college held two open houses on its Lawrenceville campus this month, including one Saturday, to introduce students and parents to the campus.

GGC advertised in movie theaters and on the radio. College officials set up a kiosk at the Mall of Georgia, near the food court, and nearly all staff members — including Kaufman — answered questions and helped prospective students apply online using computers provided by the college.

College representatives have visited every Gwinnett County high school and many schools in the surrounding counties. They've attended more than 25 college fairs and met with high school guidance counselors.

"A lot of the students don't know who we are, so that's been a lot more problematic than we thought," Kaufman said. "But we're getting out there and telling them all out about us. Once we get their attention, they like what we have to say."

That's what happened to Krista Teeter, a senior at Winder-Barrow High in Barrow County.

A college representative came to her school, and Teeter was impressed. She had planned to apply to Georgia Perimeter College and then transfer to UGA. Instead she'll attend Georgia Gwinnett, majoring in psychology.

"When I first heard people talking about GGC, I didn't know what they meant," Teeter said. "But then I went to the campus and I talked to the people there and they really took the time to answer my questions. I felt like they cared. I just feel like it is the best place for me to learn and a get a good start on my career."

Recruiters tout the chance for students to be part of a new college and create traditions. They talk about the innovative technologies that professors will use on campus, such as using cellphones to deliver information to students. They hype the small classes and the college's convenient Lawrenceville location.

Students can apply for admission up until the first day of classes and still enroll for the fall semester beginning in August. Kaufman said the college is about to enter its busy application season. More than 500 students have applied so far and more than 200 have been admitted, spokeswoman Jennifer Stephens said. About 95 percent of the students admitted are freshmen, she said.

Adam Greene, a senior at Peachtree Ridge High in Gwinnett, applied to the college because it is only 15 minutes from where he lives.

"The best part of being in the first-ever freshman class is that in 60 years, GGC could be one of Georgia's top colleges, and I can say that I was a part of the first class," Greene said.

The college, billed as "The Campus of Tomorrow," expects to enroll about 15,000 students by 2012. It could then be one of the state's 10 largest colleges, Kaufman said.

Before that can happen, the college must invent what other schools do naturally. And it must do everything at once. From hiring professors and creating degree programs to issuing student identification cards and starting student clubs.

The college already has three student clubs: biology, psychology and the student government association. Students who arrive in August will start new groups, organize intramural sports and, perhaps most importantly, pick the school mascot, said Jim Fatzinger, associate vice president for student affairs.

Six members of the student government association spent the past few months writing the constitution for future classes to follow. They decided important issues, such as the size of the student senate.

"There's no one to call to ask for help," junior Chad Miller said. "Most colleges have had their constitutions for 50 years."

The college also must develop its academic programs. Students can earn degrees in biology, business, psychology and information technology.

At least three other degree programs — education, nursing and radiologic technology — will be phased in as the college adds students.

Of course, they need teachers, too. The college received more than 1,100 applications for faculty positions, Kaufman said. The college opened with 13 faculty members and has made offers to 70 more, said Stanley Preczewski, vice president of academic and student affairs.

The plan is to have at least 116 faculty members by August, but if the college admits 3,000 students, the number of faculty members will increase to 146, Preczewski said.

College leaders have prepared for the future, but Kaufman said many of the decisions rest with the students.

"This will be their college and their campus," Kaufman said. "They will create our traditions and set the legacy that will become Georgia Gwinnett College."