To help students prepare for college, Fresno put on the 27th annual Fresno Area College Night, Sept. 8. This event hosted over 100 schools from all over the nation, including state universities, Ivy League schools and military academies.
Aside from students being able to converse with representatives from colleges, there were also classes to attend for college preparation and financial aid. Although College Night is directed to help all students, it is geared toward upperclassmen who are beginning their college search.
“This was my first year going to the college fair,” Raine Hayes, ’12, said. “I thought it was very helpful and a great learning experience. I learned more about colleges that I was interested in, and even some that I wasn’t looking at before. I really found the night useful and would really encourage all juniors and seniors to go in coming years.”
The attending institutions came from all over the nation, including the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, which attracts about 50 students from the Central Valley.
“There are many reasons students want to come to Notre Dame,” Lisa Hendey, Notre Dame representative, said. “We are committed to community service, strong academics and athletics, especially our football team. Most of our students major in liberal arts, government, science and we have a strong engineering program as well. Usually about 50 students from this area apply to Notre Dame and about 10-15 are admitted.”
Among California’s numerous colleges, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) stands out as one of the premier public institutions.
“UCLA is really the best of both worlds,” Erin Deis, representative for UCLA, said. “The campus is beautiful and near the beach. The faculty is world class; they are all the top of their fields. There are a lot of opportunities to do stuff both outside and within the school. UCLA attracts all types of people from all over the world.”
Although the majority of the institutions at College Night are public, there are also private schools to broaden the students’ options.
“I like college night,” Megan Ewbank, senior at Clovis West, said. “This was my first time attending and I found it beneficial by grabbing pamphlets and talking to the people. I’m sill researching, but I want to attend either Westmont [College], Point Loma [Nazarene University] or Biola [University]. I really like these schools because of location, and they are Christian colleges.”
The local state school, California Sate University, Fresno, has various programs that are well recognized, according to its representative.
“Fresno State has over 70 different majors,” Lynn Jaschke, Fresno State outreach counselor, said. “The campus community is very friendly and safe. I’ve grown up here, so it’s really great to attend a school that you grow up rooting for.
“Something unique about Fresno State is that we are the only university in the entire nation that makes and markets our own wine. Also, our crime lab does the testing for DUI, drug testing and forensics for the state of California.”
For more information on college night, read the Sept. 7 article, Fresno Area College Night to host over 100 institutions.
