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Schools

USF St. Petersburg gives students college preview

By RITA FARLOW
Published March 8, 2006

While Pinellas County freshman and sophomores were taking the reading and mathematics portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test last week, about 400 juniors and seniors were visiting a college or university of their choice. Many high schools gave upperclassmen excused absences for making a college visit.

On Feb. 28, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg hosted its annual College Day, designed to give prospective students a glimpse of the college experience. With that in mind, coordinators established an itinerary that included 30-minute information sessions in different classrooms, to mimic the experience of college students going from class to class.

"You actually went to different classes and got to see different areas (of the campus)," said Tim Ritter, 18.

Ritter, a senior at Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, said he gained a better understanding of the application process at the admissions session. He also attended sessions on financial aid and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Information sessions were also held for housing, the College of Business and the College of Education. Students were encouraged to attend four sessions to receive a letter to produce to their high schools stating they had attended College Day.

In between sessions, students and their parents had the chance to grab a bite to eat or learn more about a variety of campus clubs and organizations. Information booths set up on the sidewalk behind Davis Hall included Student Life, the Academic Success Center and Campus Crusade for Christ, showing a wide array of academic and social clubs for consideration.

Frank Hohengarten, dean of enrollment services, said College Day is a great opportunity for students to become acquainted with schools they may be interested in attending. "(With) the college decision, one of the most important things is for the student to actually be here, physically, on campus," he said. "It's a good transitional campus, but once people get here, they're going to find that they like what we're trying to do here, (which is) to create ourselves as a destination of choice." Hohengarten said that not only does USF St. Petersburg offer a beautiful waterfront view, but the smaller, easily traversable campus creates "intimacy and community."

Caren Elosge, at College Day with her daughter Renee Elosge, a senior at Osceola High School in Seminole, agreed that the size of the campus was a positive factor. "It's more quaint. You have more one-on-one attention, because the student-to-teacher ratio is less," said Caren, a USF St. Petersburg alumna.

Renee, who has already been accepted to USF St. Petersburg, said she hopes to live on campus, and was able to get a lot of good information about her options at the housing presentation. The 17-year-old, who plans to study psychology, said she was also fascinated to learn about the extensive list of majors offered by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Renee said she loved the campus and was eager to begin her college experience. "I may even come back (before school starts)," she said.

[Last modified March 8, 2006, 01:42:19]