No matter where you are at Brewster High School you can hear the daily announcements for college representative visits.
These “information sessions” give students–mostly seniors and a few ambitious juniors–the opportunity to learn about an institution and ask questions about the college and admissions process.
During the year, representatives come from as far away as the University of Tampa in Florida and as nearby as Western Connecticut in Danbury. The most popular schools are the SUNY schools, which can have as many as 30 students in attendance. Of course it is college application season, so these visits are more pressing now to seniors.
During a recent visit, Jeremy Krause, a senior admissions officer for UConn, held court at the itheater in the ILC. There were three rows of stadium seats with half desks for note taking and a giant screen in front. Five students were in attendance, notebooks and computers open; they were ready to learn about UConn.
In his 25-minute presentation, Krause, who stood in front of the group, explained that there were about 19,000 undergraduates at UConn, but that there is a 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio. The college sits on a traditional New England campus and boasts a dairy bar with delicious ice cream and cheese. It offers about 115 majors; over 200 study abroad programs; 750 clubs; fraternities and sororities–but that at UConn it’s ‘not go Greek or go home”; and more than 100 residential options from traditional dorms to theme houses such as Whimsy House for women involved in STEM.
The students have a lot of questions: What’s the average GPA needed to get into UConn? What’s the Residential Assistant Program like? What if my grades weren’t as good freshman and sophomore years but have trended upwards junior and senior year? If you apply early to UConn, do you hear back earlier? Do you consider senior year grades?
And importantly, a final question on food: What’s the dining hall like?
Krause perked up, “Which one? We have 81 including a gluten free bakery. And students have unlimited meal plan swipes–you can eat four breakfasts and no one will judge. “
After the session the students gathered and talked about UConn:
Mikayla found the session helpful “because I was able to get a sense of the kinds of things that admissions officers look for in applicants and what the college has to offer academically and socially.”
Kristin, who has already completed all of her applications–with help from her mom– said, “It was helpful! A lot of the information is available on the internet, but it was nice hearing it from someone in person. I did not know many of the statistics regarding how many residence halls and how many dining halls they have. It was nice to learn about how the campus is organized.”
Cesar, who has visited UConn and really knows the school, agreed, “The session gave me more insight into what a top tier college is looking for and what the daily life is going to be like for me in the future. I learned some new things but since this is one of my dream schools, I think I got everything covered.”
The time is ticking for the application deadline and students have all kinds of emotions. Kristin summed it up best, “I am nervous but very excited for college! Every day it changes. Some days I wish I could have graduated last year and other days I wish I was in kindergarten again. It is definitely a mix of emotions but I think that it is going to be great!”
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