You might vaguely remember a school announcement about colleges giving presentations—it’s usually aimed at high school seniors, since they’re, you know, going to college the next year. Guess what?
The folks who get that ball rolling? Same folks I work for. The Oregon University System goes around to public and private high schools (238 this year) and, according to the newsletter I’ve got in front of me, is to help “encourage [you] to explore [your] college options.”
Summary of this newsletter:
College reps are going to talk to you about the seven OUS schools around the state. They’re going to know average tuition, what majors are offered (or at least where to go to find out), how to get financial aid, and when all involved applications are due.
Your school will probably try and make you go to this. But even if they don’t, I think it’s a good idea.
I mean, senioritis is no joke—as I typed it, I realized the Microsoft Word spellchecker recognizes it as a real word—but you seniors won’t be seniors next year. And this thing is only two hours long. But if you’re going to go, ask some questions
- I don’t know what I want to do for the rest of my life—which schools are well-rounded so I can decide there?
- I want to do this-or-that, where should I go and why?
- What schools have good internship programs?
- Which ones have good on-campus jobs? Working the food court might work freshman year, but I’m talking good on-campus jobs, relevant to my interests?
- I’ve got some weird esoteric hobby. Is there a club for it at any of these schools? (They probably won’t know the answer to this, so ask them where you can find out. Get a phone number or a URL)
Seriously. I came up with these questions in about 2 minutes. And you know what you like; you can come up with some better ones that are even more relevant to you. Useful links:
- Visitation Schedule—find your school on here. They’re ordered by date, done by region.
- Brochure—the pages I’m citing below are done by PDF pages, not the pages printed in the file
- Page 13 and 14 to see what is offered at which schools.
- Page 20 for admission and scholarship deadlines (read the blurb on top about Financial Aid)
- Page 22 for average costs by school.
- Campus tour dates—also in the brochure on page 12; if you wind up liking one of the schools, go to its tour. You might not think the campus is a big deal, but you’ll likely be living there. Think about it. Plus, the tour guides are usually kids who are going to the school, so they’ll know the cool hangouts and whatnot.
