With scheduling season approaching, upcoming seniors have the opportunity to take the Introduction to College Admissions course. The class offers a unique chance for college-bound students in the process of admissions to build their application and social skills.
Though the course has been offered at Hayes since 2019, this past semester, college and career counselor Jennifer Pollard introduced an optional hybrid model.
“[Students] could come all five days, or [they] could choose to come [only] Tuesday, Wednesday, [and] Thursday,” Pollard said.
The hybrid model gives seniors a sense of independence all while still receiving the guidance they need. Nonetheless, students still have the alternative to go and receive the full-time experience if they prefer.
“I was there all week,” senior class taker Kensie Cudia said. “[Sometimes] it felt like there were a lot of workdays, but at least I knew I had time to get everything done.”
Although there was a slight change to the overall structure of the course, the rest of its makeup has remained fairly the same. For example, there is no capacity size limit. This means that any incoming seniors can enroll and get into the class.
This past semester’s class had 85 seniors while last year’s had 103. Not limiting capacity has allowed for a significant number of students to benefit from the course and even help others, like their friends, who did not sign up for the class.
“I like to say [the students become] my little soldiers,” Pollard said. “They help me out [by] teaching their friends.”
With the larger class sizes, Pollard and co-instructor to the class Meghan Kollas provide the course in the auditorium during the first semester.
When discussing the main focal points of the class, its priorities are organized over the two quarters. To elaborate, the first quarter focuses primarily on the college application, while the second quarter outlines the social aspects that come with attending a university.
Filling out a college application can be a tedious task to accomplish. The Intro to College Admissions course guides students to success by setting deadlines, building skills with programs like Schoolinks, suggesting financial aid opportunities and more.
“[The class] really helps with time management because [the college admissions process is] a whole other thing [to do] on top of all the schoolwork you already have,” Cudia said.
From a social perspective, the class captures dorm life, campus activities, how to live on your own, and experiences shared by visiting alumni.
“[Students] need to be prepared to transition to another part of their life,” Kollas said. “[They] take away ideas like how to stay safe, staying on top of their studies, as well as balancing meeting new friends and [transitioning] into their adult life.”
For credit purposes, students who take the course will receive 0.5 worth of elective credits as the class is graded as a pass/fail. This means the class will not help or harm students’ GPA.
All in all, the Intro to College Admissions course will assist seniors in the college admissions process and make for a smooth transition into university.
“If there’s any class I recommend taking, it’s [Intro to College Admissions],” Cudia said.
