A group of campus students are going to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) to give high schoolers an idea of where they want to attend college, Oct. 8. The group consists of juniors and seniors only, who will miss all classes as they will be gone from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m..

Academic Advisor Michelle Warkentin has arranged this trip free of charge. Most students go on this trip for various reasons but for junior Chloe Duerr, the trip provides the opportunity to get a taste of different colleges.

“I’m going because I need to start looking for colleges,” Duerr said. “I don’t really know where to look, so any opportunity can be helpful.”

Warkentin will be leading this group of students to the university and finds the trip to be helpful for seeing what a college campus is like.

“It is an opportunity for students to experience what life is like on a college campus,” Warkentin said. “Visiting a campus makes it much more real and I feel it is important for interested students to get a feel for the culture of the school to see if it fits their personality.”

According to Warkentin, the institute is beneficial for many of the FC students, due to the close location and challenging academic programs.

“Cal Poly is a good option for many of our students because it is not too far from Fresno, Warkentin said. “It offers rigorous academic programs. It is more affordable than several comparable colleges and for a public college, it is known to be more conservative in nature.”

Warkentin encourages students to attend the day trip in order to gain information on what kind of college they want to go to.

“My hope is for students to gain a better understanding of what college is like from the academic work to the cafeteria food; it all makes up the college experience,” Warkentin said. “This will hopefully give seniors a push to start working on their college applications and juniors some encouragement to start thinking seriously about college options.”

Warkentin plans to continue similar trips like these in the future, but changing the schools they visit. Although Warkentin is leading the exhibition she needs two parent drivers to accompany her as chaperones.

To be eligible to join this group, students must have a GPA of 3.50 or higher. There is no cost to join; however, students will need money for lunch.

For more information or questions, contact Michelle Warkentine by email.

For more news, read the Oct. 3 article, BRIEF: Band to compete at fair, CSUF.