High School Students Get Opportunity to Experience College Life

Do I want to go to college? What school should I attend? How am I ever going to choose a major? Is there a career field that is suited for me? Senior year can be an incredibly stressful time for many high school students. On top of trying to maintain good grades, keep a part time job and navigate the sometimes difficult social issues faced by your average teenager, seniors are required to make tremendously important decisions that will effect the rest of their lives. Too often these decisions are made without enough information or the proper guidance, leading to more stress and additional difficulties down the road both for students and their families.

Rochester Institute of Technology, whose nationally recognized cooperative education program provides college students with hands on work experience in their field of study, offers an innovative program to high school seniors allowing them to experience life on the RIT campus before they start their college search. College & Careers, sponsored by the Undergraduate Admissions Office, combines a comprehensive academic orientation with a variety of social activities to give students a better understanding of what their college experience will entail. The program is offered to all students who will be entering their senior year of high school this fall.

“RIT prides itself on experiential learning and the College & Careers Program seeks to expand that mission beyond the traditional boundaries,” notes Dr. Daniel Shelley, Director of Undergraduate Admissions. “By providing high school students with a better understanding of what college is like from both an academic and social perspective we hope to better prepare seniors for the decisions they will have to make.”

The program will be offered two weekends this summer: July 22-23 and August 5-6. Attendees will explore academic and career options working with RIT students and faculty using the university’s state-of-the-art facilities and technology. Students select from more than fifty academic sessions. They will also have the opportunity to stay overnight in the university residence halls, eat in the student cafeteria and participate in a variety of other activities. There will also be workshops and activities available for parents.