Published: December 08, 2007 11:37 pm            

WO-S seniors prepare for future

By Tommy Mann Jr.

The Orange Leader



WEST ORANGE — Counselors at West Orange-Stark High School have created a new program aimed at making sure students from the school have a chance to succeed in the next phase of their lives after graduation.

The first ever “Senior Application Day” was held at the high school during school hours on Wednesday. The program gave seniors the opportunity to fill out college admission applications correctly and have questions answered by facilitators.

“We created this program to help more of our students at one time,” said Delores Eddings, sophomore and senior counselor at West Orange-Stark High School. “This program offered something for everyone, even those students have really did not know if they wanted to go to college or not.”

Eddings said most senior students had yet completed college admission applications, and this event allowed them to do so now instead of procrastinating.

“A lot of students really don’t know where to start when applying for college,” Eddings said. “That was the purpose of this event.”

Eddings said students were divided into two groups: one group which preferred to apply for college electronic applications and the other group which preferred to fill out paper applications.

Some students which may be considering other options besides college after graduation, such as military service or finding a job, had the opportunity to speak with people in those respective areas.

To help speed the project along, students were placed in smaller groups in separate locations, such as the senior cafeteria and library lecture room for those completing written applications, while online applications were completed in the career center computer lab.

Military recruiters spoke with students about serving their country in the cafeteria, while other students had the opportunity to visit with Power Zone and Texas Work Force in another area.

“Each group had facilitators monitor the students and address any issues or concerns,” Eddings said. “They helped make sure the applications were filled out correctly and accurately to increase their chances of being accepted at the college of their choice.”

Eddings said several out of state college applications were already available for some schools, as were a number of admission applications to junior colleges across the state and country.

“The students really seemed to be excited to have this opportunity,” Eddings said. “We definitely plan on making this an annual event. Once we make sure all of the applications are completed and ready to go, then we will get them in the mail.”

Eddings said the most popular choices by West Orange-Stark students this year appear to be Lamar State College-Orange, Lamar State College-Port Arthur, Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology.

Eddings said some students have already completed admission applications and have also received acceptance letters. Some of those students, such as Aleecia Vontoure, also assisted other classmates during the application process on Wednesday.

“I think this has been a big help to some of our seniors so maybe they can get into school,” Vontoure said. “Our principals and counselors gave us this opportunity to fill out applications so we can better our future. It has to be a help.”

Vontoure has filled out applications to schools such as Texas A&M, Sam Houston State University, and the University of Texas at Arlington, but found out Tuesday she has been accepted to attend the University of Texas in Austin, where she will enter the nursing program.

“A lot of students may not have applied in time to meet the deadline for their school of choice without this event,” Vontoure said. “A lot of students would have just put off the application process until it may have been too late, so, yeah, this is definitely a benefit for everyone.”

Eddings said many colleges and universities now require an application fee be included with the submission of the college application, including Lamar University which now charges a $25 fee.

“Some of our students are eligible for a fee waiver for the application fees,” Eddings said. “And they may not have known it until we did this application program. We know how important this is to our students and we plan to make it more successful each year from now on.”



Reach this reporter at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com

        

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