Promoting academic rigor, programs is Purdue's goal during College Go! Week
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University admission officers will connect with thousands of prospective students and hundreds of high school guidance counselors during College Go! Week on Sept. 20-24.
"It doesn't matter where they go to college, we want to empower and encourage more Indiana students to prepare and seek a college education," said Pamela Horne, associate vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admissions. "Purdue has tens of thousands of young Indiana residents in our recruitment database, and we believe this is the perfect time for us to communicate to them about Purdue as well as the steps they should take to be ready for college."
Purdue will join many Indiana colleges and universities participating in College Go! Week, which is supported by Learn More Indiana and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
The admissions office will target specific messages to high school seniors to remind them about application deadlines and the application fee waiver for income-eligible prospective students. Students interested in applying for the fee waiver can do so when they create an application account at https://www.admissions.purdue.edu
Prospective students need to submit completed applications by Nov. 15 to be considered for merit-based scholarships, and those who apply during College Go! Week or earlier are more likely to be among the first to receive an admission decision when they are released at 5 p.m. on Dec. 10. High school seniors are strongly encouraged to apply to Purdue early in their senior year. Students have until May 1 to make their enrollment decisions.
University admissions officers also will contact high school juniors to remind them about Purdue's fall visit programs and to encourage them to take the SAT or ACT during their spring semester. Sophomores will be encouraged to take the PSAT, and freshmen will be encouraged to be active in their school and community throughout their high school years. All students in high school will be encouraged to consider the rigor of their coursework as they select classes.
Eighth-graders also will receive information about the importance of academic rigor, such as meeting Purdue's minimum requirements with four years of math and English, as well as three years of lab science and social studies, and two years of foreign language. Purdue also will work with high school guidance counselors to reach interested students. This fall, Purdue was ranked 35th nationally in a U.S.News & World Report special category in which high school guidance counselors identify the top schools.
Purdue's office of Student Access, Transition and Success Programs will conduct outreach activities to middle-schoolers and their families in the surrounding counties to promote the Twenty-first Century Scholars program and the Purdue Promise program, said Dan Carpenter, interim director. Income-eligible sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders who enroll in the Twenty-first Century Scholars program and fulfill a pledge of good citizenship to the state are guaranteed the cost of four years of undergraduate college tuition at any participating public college or university in Indiana. If the student attends a private institution, the state will award an amount comparable to that of a public institution. The Purdue Promise program helps Twenty-first Century Scholars succeed at Purdue through additional need-based financial aid and support services.
Purdue's Continuing Education and Conferences Division also will distribute posters and advertisements in the community and at the university to encourage community members and Purdue employees to return to or start college.
"We are especially interested in encouraging adults who started college degrees years ago to consider working toward finishing their degree," said Mark Pagano, dean of continuing education and conferences.
Possible programs or classes for adult learners include health-care leadership, improving teaching skills, business writing and criminal law, Pagano said. More information about online and distance learning, as well as evening courses, is available at https://www.continuinged.purdue.edu/go/
Learn More Indiana, a statewide initiative to encourage more Indiana residents to earn a college degree, is supported by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Indiana Department of Education, Indiana Department of Workforce Development and State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana. It also is supported by USA Funds Inc. and the Lumina Foundation for Education.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Pamela Horne, 765-494-7014, pamhorne@purdue.edu
Dan Carpenter, 765-494-8507, dwcarpen@purdue.edu
Mark Pagano, 765-496-2321, mapagano@purdue.edu