As thousands of high school students across the country are trying to get noticed by selective colleges, Schuler Scholars are winning opportunities to increase their chances for admission to some of the best schools in the country.  During the fall semester, a large number of colleges invite high school students to apply for fall fly-in programs, for which colleges fund students to visit campuses for an overnight stay, sit in on classes and interview with admissions reps.  While many students have access to this type of opportunity, few visits are actually fully funded by each college.  Much like a job interview, fly-in programs allow colleges greater access to potential students who would otherwise be unable to visit the campus.  The visits also allow students to get a feel for particular college campuses; something that goes beyond the typical information session and tour. 

The Schuler Scholar Program is pleased that a number of Schuler Scholars were offered such opportunities. Evelyn Fraga of Waukegan High School was flown out to New York City to experience Barnard College’s Multicultural Preview Weekend.  Not only was she able to sit in on classes and visit the campus, she was able to experience first hand what it is like to live and study in one of the most dynamic cities. Barnard College is a leading liberal arts college for women and through its affiliation with Columbia University is connected to the Ivy League. For more information about Barnard College visit their website at www.barnard.edu.

In early November, Alexia Borland and Alberto Martinez of Waukegan High School were invited to join the Bates College community for its Prologue to Bates program.  Bates College is a small liberal arts college located in Lewiston Maine – a little over an hour north of Boston, Massachusetts.  Highly regarded as an inclusive community, Bates’ doors have always been open to women and students of color.  Both Schuler scholars loved the Bates experience and found the college students to be welcoming and interesting.  Alberto commented that he was thankful for Schuler because when the college students were discussing theater productions, he was able to feel at ease and join in on the conversation and talk about the theatre productions to which he had been exposed during his time in the Schuler Scholar Program.   More exciting was the fact that on a small college campus in Maine he met kids from across the world.  Imagine the excitement as a high school student from Waukegan shared his ideas with young people from Nigeria and Columbia.  For more information about Bates visit www.bates.edu.

Gustavo Ruiz of Round Lake High School was honored to be selected to go to Pomona College’s Preview Day. Like the aforementioned Scholars, Gustavo was able to get a much deeper understanding of Pomona, one the best liberal arts colleges in the country, and Pomona’s faculty was able to better get to know Gustavo.  To learn more about Pomona visit www.pomona.edu.

Other Scholars were flown to Denison University in Gambier Ohio, www.denison.edu and a group of Scholars stayed overnight at Beloit College in Beloit Wisconsin www.beloit.edu.  While the Schuler Scholar Program sponsors college visits for juniors during spring break and over the summer, the school sponsored programs afford students the best experience as they get to visit a campus while classes are in session.  Next year Schuler college counselors will nominate scholars for a variety of fly-in programs and through strategic partnerships with schools the program expects to more than double the number of scholars who benefit from such programming.