When high school students think about their future, considering a college education and deciding which school to attend can be daunting. In order to assist students in learning about the diverse amount of colleges a person can attend, the annual Fresno Area College Night will be held on Sept. 14.

The event, held at the New Convention Center Exhibit Hall and hosted by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, will last from 6-9 p.m., and will showcase workshops and representatives from various colleges. Admission is free, and the “Hour of Power!” — a segment hosting special sessions as well as parent orientation — will begin at 5:30 p.m., running until 6:30 p.m.

Even though the event only offers basic information and a short amount of time to talk with different representatives, academic advisor Molly Sargent says it provides a great opportunity for students.

“I think the College Night is a great opportunity for kids to visit because there are over 100 different colleges all in one evening,” Sargent said. “You don’t get a lot of in-depth conversations with representatives when they come, but at least you get to get all the literature from the different colleges, and get an idea of what’s available.”

There will be Christian colleges in addition to a smattering of different secular schools represented, including — for the most part — every UC, and CSU, according to Sargent.

Although senior Zedekiah Fries did not attend College Night last year, he hopes to visit this year to see the assortment of colleges offered.

“Because I’m not certain as to what I want to do in life, I want to keep my options open,” Fries said. “Going to College Night would allow me to know what places offer, and the choices I could or should major in.”

Senior Morgan Childs visited College Night for her first time last year, and acknowledged that it assisted her in choosing which colleges she would apply to.

“I thought it was really cool to talk to all the different colleges and get to know what they were about,” Childs said. “The College Night definitely narrowed down the colleges I was interested in, but it also opened up new opportunities and helped me decided where I am going to apply and why. I would definitely recommend it to people because you learn a lot about colleges and it helps so much with choosing the right college.”

Sargent believes that the exhibit opens up opportunities for students to learn more about the vast options they have in store for their future.

“Even if you’re looking for just general information it is a great way to pick up information with brochures,” Sargent said. “Because it’s free, there is no better opportunity than this to sample all the different colleges that are available here in the state of California.”

For more information, check out the Sept. 2010 article, College Night broadens opportunities.

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