With the year coming to a close, college application deadlines are nearing and Central New York’s high school seniors are starting to apply. The New York State Higher Education Services Program is promoting College Application Week.
Assistant Director for Grants and Scholarship Programs Jennifer Dwire says the focus of the program is helping students who may be the first in their family to go beyond a high school diploma:
OnPoint for college, a program based here in Syracuse, helps students navigate post-secondary education from application to graduation. Deputy Executive Director Sam Rowser says many students don’t have any exposure to the application process and don’t understand how it works. He's had some students who assume that after they receive an acceptance letter, they're done and ready to go, when really more paperwork and sometimes even more applications for housing and other programs are necessary after the fact.
Program Director Tiffany Rush says she sees the same problem:
"The bigger issue for our students is not lack of motivation, it's just that they are the first, so they don't know what to do. Because we know the process so well, it seems like we're always chasing behind students, but it's really not that, it's that they don't have a clue. "
With College Application Week, which runs from November 17 to 21, the statewide initiative’s goal is to help every high school senior submit at least one application to a post-secondary education institution.
Check out the statewide program at gocollegeny.org/apply or visit OnPoint’s website at onpointforcollege.com.