High school juniors at Mount Vernon and Burlington-Edison high schools got a “practice run” at completing a college application earlier this month. In partnership, the GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) offices of MVHS, BEHS, and Skagit Valley College prepared a special college application for the students. Admissions counselors at Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, Western Washington University, Washington State University, and Skagit Valley College will review the applications.
At Mount Vernon, 226 students and at Burlington Edison, 239 students completed the applications. Within days of completion, admissions counselors from around the state began reading them and making written recommendations to the students about how to best prepare for higher education in the next year. The students will receive the feedback before the end of this school year making it possible for them to put into action what they learn. The goal of the project is to help them prepare to fill out “real” college/university applications next year and to better plan for college life.
“We are excited that so many students were able to take part in this activity and it couldn’t have happened without the close partnership between the high schools, colleges, and universities,” said Alan Muia, Dean for Student Services at Skagit Valley College. The information that the students receive will help them understand what is needed in order to be accepted to a university in Washington state. In addition, all of the students who filled out the application are being accepted to SVC. Muia continued, “We want all students to understand that getting accepted to a university or college is within their reach.”
After completing the GEAR UP college application, students are being invited to two additional college activities.
On June 3, a group of college and university counselors and admissions officers will host a first-of its-kind “College Prep Dinner.” During the dinner, the students will receive instruction on dining etiquette, feedback from their college applications, and an opportunity to practice in the university interview process. For many students, having dinner and meeting with a college professional can be intimidating, but this experience is common when they compete for college scholarships and admissions. The dinner will give students an opportunity to ?practice? and ask questions regarding the scholarship and application process.
Finally, during the last week in June, students who want to learn more about attending college have an opportunity to take a one-credit course called Fast Track/An Orientation to College Success. The course gives students specific resources to help them succeed in attaining their educational goals.
The goal of all of these activities is to demystify higher education for all of the students in the junior class at participating high schools. High school and college planners hope that members of this class will have the highest college and university attendance of any high school class in the Skagit Valley to date.
