High school seniors will get a taste of college life this year.
Saint Mary's College will be hosting Senior Preview Day, an event on campus for prospective students to attend with their families. This particular program is strictly for high school seniors to attend.
Mona Carrandi de Bowe, Vice President for Enrollment Management, said there are four well-attended
Senior Preview Days throughout the school year.
"We have 50 students who have reserved spots for the program, some coming from as far away as Florida and Arizona," Bowe said. "We have another program on Oct. 11, which is already full, and one more this semester on Nov. 15."
Invitations were sent to more than 20,000 high school seniors who were on Saint Mary's mailing list at the end of August.
"We also talk about the programs as we visit high schools and participate in college fairs, and promote the event in our website," Bowe said.
The seniors are matched with Saint Mary's students, who serve as hostesses, eating lunch with the high
school students and showing them dorm life on campus. Since there were not volunteers from every major, the College is taking a different approach to the way the event has been run in the past.
"Visitors are matched with a current student, regardless of major, but faculty from their intended major or interest have opened their classrooms to our guests," Bowe said. "This way, visitors can learn about their areas of interest from the students in the class and from the faculty, and learn about life at Saint Mary's from her hostess."
Students will register and have some one-on-one time with admission counselors when they arrive on campus. Then they will meet their host students and attend a class that is aimed at their particular major.
"Except for the class we schedule for them to attend, nothing in the morning is scripted," Bowe said. "We want them to walk around and see a typical day in the life of a Saint Mary's student."
Having them attend classes that interest them allows the seniors to ask questions of the students and teachers in those classes.
While students are busy attending a class and walking around with their host student, parents are busy with their own itinerary of events.
Parents will learn all about the services and offices that encompass the Student Affairs division.
"To help them understand the admission process at Saint Mary's, we walk them through an interactive exercise, where they read applications and in small groups, or ‘admission committees,' they make admission decisions themselves," Bowe said.
They will also have an opportunity to learn information regarding admission criteria and financial aid information for their daughters. Staff members from the Career Crossings Office will provide data about graduates, and they will receive a tour around campus from admission counselors.
The seniors will rejoin their parents and host student for lunch at the Noble Family Dining Hall.
After lunch, seniors will hear from the department of Academic Affairs and the Athletics department, and learn about study abroad programs offered through the College.
Following this will be a Student Panel Question and Answer session in which students can raise any question concerning life on Saint Mary's campus. This will allow the seniors to ask questions to students as opposed to faculty and staff.
"The main purpose of Senior Preview Days is that visiting students learn about Saint Mary's from our own students, not just from the Admission and Financial Aid staffs," Bowe said. "At the end of the day, the hope is that these great women can see themselves as Belles, can put some of their anxiety about the college search process to rest, and decide to apply for admission for the Class of 2015."
