Oregon Goes to College

Oregon State University president, Ed Ray, is a supporter of College Application Week, as evidenced in his guest column last week inThe Oregonian.

President Ray shared that while we might think he's biased toward higher education because of his job, he's got personal reasons for believing in the value of college. He closed with a gentle reminder:

We started hearing rumors about a heated contest at Hermiston High School, and we simply couldn't wait for the results to come in before begging for photos.

It goes without saying - College Application Week isn't a standalone event. To ensure success, students need to prepare. Prior to submitting their applications, they do a college search, make some decisions about where they'll apply, and gather their materials. When possible, the search part includes visiting college campuses. Last week, Stanfield Secondary School kicked off their CAW event by taking a group of students to Seattle to visit the University of Washington. Looks like they had a great time! 

Beaverton High School is on a roll! Check out their Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook accounts to see all of the #whyichose videos they've been posting. They're asking students, faculty, staff, and alumni why they chose to continue their education beyond high school, and they're getting some great responses! Here's one:

And here's another schedule of events we spied, this time shared on David Douglas' district website:

We spied this post on Facebook earlier this week. Check out all the great things happening at Mazama during their CAW event:

We're keeping an eye out for all the news media about Oregon College Application Week. If you see something we miss, be sure to send it our way!

Joining the movement in Oregon recognizing November as College Application Month, Hermiston School District, along with the city of Hermiston, proclaimed the first week in November to be College Application Week.

In a recent coordinator newsletter, we recommended that you widely distribute your schedule of CAW events among students and staff. Doing so ensures that everyone in the building knows what to expect and can plan to participate in the event at a time that works for them and their schedule. We spotted this schedule on Twitter:

Several schools host assemblies as part of their CAW events. Some assemblies happen before the event and are designed to build excitement and increase participation. Others plie students with information about local colleges, about career options, or about the application process itself. And this year we have a great idea for an end-of-the-week assembly from Lowell Jr/Sr High School: