450 attend College Knowledge Night

By Sophia Fischer sfischeracorn@yahoo.com

To help high school students and their parents with the complex college application process, Oak Park High School hosted College Knowledge Night last week. Nearly 450 people attended.

"It was very informational and helped me know what I need to work toward to get into a good school," said David Saunders, 15, an OPHS sophomore.

Professionals from some of the area’s top colleges spoke to participants in small break-out sessions. Attendees could choose three of 13 discussions inside OPHS classrooms, and rotated to a new presentation after 45 minutes.

They heard a variety of topics, including admissions requirements at the University of California, California Institute of Technology, and California State University; strategies for the new SAT exam from a Princeton Review representative; understanding the financial aid system; how to write an effective application essay from a Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions representative; the community college system and transfer programs; and athletic scholarship guidelines.

"We want to take away some of the fear," said Anthony Russomano, a Princeton Review representative who discussed strategies for taking the new SAT.

In another room nearby, Victoria Lee-Jerrems, an admissions officer for UC-San Diego outlined what that school wants to see in its applications.

"Academic is 75 percent, and personal achievement, extracurricular and leadership counts for 25 percent," Lee-Jerrems said. "We look at what you are doing consistently. We are looking for what your strengths are."

Brett Schraeder, director of Financial Aid for California Lutheran University, gave an overview of the formulas used by schools in providing monetary assistance to students.

"Don’t go cashing in on your equity or emptying your savings accounts. There are lots of good loan options you can use," Schraeder said.

This is the first time College Knowledge Night has taken place at Oak Park, but it is not a new program. For the past few years the event has taken place at Agoura High School and Calabasas High School. Families of all three schools participated in this year’s event.

"The power of having the three schools allows us to attract top college professionals to come and speak," said Mae Greenwald, head of the OPHS College Career Center. She is also is a member of the College Knowledge Night Committee, along with parents Michaela Rotenstein and Susan Chow. "We sat down and talked about who we wanted to see here and we contacted them early."

Next year’s College Knowledge Night will be at Calabasas High School.