Sophomore College Night
Gators had the ability to hear about the different colleges they could apply for at Sophomore College Night.
November 19, 2019
On Tuesday, November 5, Gators had Sophomore college night. Surprisingly, sophomores weren’t the only people who came. Many freshmen who were interested also made an appearance. The information presented held value for everyone in the room, not just the Class of 2022.
Mrs. Summers started off the night by talking about independence and how Sophomores only had two and a half years left. She directed her thoughts toward parents when she talked about how parents cannot go to college with their kids. She gave her own examples of what she experienced when her children went to college. She humorously made the remark that her daughter called Mrs. Summers “hysterically” because she didn’t know how to fill up the gas tank in the car.
After Mrs. Summers’ introduction of how students need to be more independent to be able to succeed in college, recruiters from three colleges started talking about their programs and statistics. Ms.
Daniel from Elon University went up first. She talked about how being a private university, their price tag intimidates. She brought up many interesting points about how the price tag should not stop you from submitting an application or even attending but one of them in particular caught my attention. Ms. Daniel talked about how there are scholarship funds and financial aid money out there for students to claim. The initial price tag may be high but when you factor in those aids the price is similar to in-state tuition at a public college. Some of the statistics she mentioned throughout the conference were: the acceptance rate for Elon is 67%, average scores for the SAT is 1230, average score for the ACT is 27, cost of tuition and fees is in total $36,571, cost of room and board is $12,685.
Ms. Hopewell from the University of Alabama went second. She talked about how the low average scores cause stigma around the school. She brought up how the have the best football team. Ms. Hopewell also talked about scholarships and financial aid because the up front tuition was very high. Some of the statistics she mentioned throughout the conference were the acceptance rate for UA is 63%, average scores for the SAT is 1260-1290, average score for the ACT is 27, cost of tuition and fees is in total $31,050, cost of room and board is $13,636.
Ms. Daniel, with UNC Chapel Hill, went last. She talked about how it was okay to not be the person with fifteen clubs. She made an interesting point about how they want people who are focused in an area rather than someone who does it all. She took off the pressure for some students when she talked about not having to take many AP’s. She talked about finding the best fit for you and having good mental health. Some of the statistics she mentioned throughout were: the acceptance rate for UNC Chapel Hill is 21.5%, the average SAT is 1310-1480, the average ACT is 28-33.5, cost of tuition and fees is $9,018, cost of room and board is $11,526.
Sophomore college night eased a lot of people’s fears and answered many questions for students and parents. Students learned more about what type of college they would like to attend in the future and even got some connections. Overall this night dedicated to the future was a success.
