September is a busy time in education - school's just starting and everyone is getting back into the swing of things. For seniors, the pace is picking up because it's time to get serious about their college plans.
College Application Week is still the new kid on the block in Oregon, and it's brand new at the vast majority of our sites this year. That means we need to do a bit of work to ensure that the people in our buildings and communities know about the initiative and how they can help.
We've been waiting to announce this tidbit of news until the time was just right. We wanted school back in session. We wanted seniors to be thinking about their college search. And we wanted site coordinators to be in the throes of planning their CAW events.
We think now is the right time!
We launched our #whyapply social media campaign just about a week ago, and in that time we've had some great feedback!
Have you checked out our Facebook page yet? The submissions keep coming in - we've heard from
This time of year, there aren't many people busier than those who work in schools. We know that - and we know that most of our site coordinators are also full-time faculty or staff members in schools and community based organizations. Our goal is to make the planning of your College Application Week event as streamlined as possible so you have the time and energy to commit to the students you serve on a daily basis.
Does that sound like you? Have you been looking for a way to get involved?
We've got the perfect opportunity for you!
We want to know when College Application Week hits the news! After last year's successful pilot at Taft 7-12 in Lincoln City, the local media outlet let the whole community know about it!
When we piloted Oregon College Application Week last year, we started small. With just 7 sites, most of which were very small (serving fewer than 50 seniors), I was cautiously optimistic about what "success" would look like. I knew we wouldn't see the kinds of big numbers that move the needle, as they had in Minnesota. In their first year, they nearly tripled the number of applications entering the Minnesota State University system's institutions during the designated week!
In 2012, Oregon joined a targeted national effort to increase the number of low-income students who apply to college.
Seven pilot sites participated in Oregon's first-ever College Application Week, December 3-14. Students and site coordinators reported great successes!
