Hundreds of seniors take the first step toward higher education

Hundreds of local high school seniors are one step closer to college.

The guidance departments at Fort Mill and Nation Ford high schools sponsored College Application Day recently, giving students the opportunity to learn about and apply to more than 20 colleges and universities.

Though both high schools held separate college events in years past, the schools decided to team up this year to attract more schools.

“This is their busy travel season, making it harder for them to come to multiple schools,” on multiple days, Underwood said.

There were 22 colleges and universities – 10 more than last year – at Nation Ford. Also represented was the U.S. Army, said NAFO guidance counselor Tarah Underwood. Most schools waived application fees for the day.

Nation Ford’s event took place in the morning and Fort Mill’s in the afternoon, with 224 Nation Ford students and 130 Fort Mill students participating. Last year, 131 NAFO students and 122 Fort Mill students participated.

“It’s grown a little bit each year, but this is by far the biggest year,” Underwood said. “It’s huge.”

Since 2009, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and the S.C. Department of Education has joined with The American College Application Campaign, a national effort to increase the number of first-generation and low-income college students.

Last year, 214 high schools across the state participated in College Application Day events, with nearly 65,000 college applications completed. Of the students who filled out applications last year, 29 percent were first-generation college students.

At the start of the event this year, each college rep had one minute to introduce themselves and share why their school is special.

After the introductions, representatives dispersed to help students with applications, regardless of the school.

“We’re all representing different colleges, but at the same time it’s not a territorial dispute,” said Matt Cash, recruitment coordinator for USC-Beaufort. “We’re just here to lend a hand.”

Fort Mill guidance counselor Allison Davis said the day allows students to gain exposure to schools they may not have considered before.

“Students know the major schools, but there’s so many more that may be more applicable for that particular student,” she said.

Anastasia Barkova, a rep from Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., said students kept telling her they were not interested in applying because of an assumption that out-of-state schools are “too expensive.”

“We are a private school, so we do have a big endowment,” Barkova said. “Some of our scholarships are bigger than what they can get in-state.”

School choice should be based on where the student “feels comfortable academically, spiritually, socially – not because Clemson has a good football team or UNC has a good basketball team,” Barkova said.

Fort Mill High student Jacob Brugh is considering Washington Lee University, Vanderbilt University and the University of South Carolina Honors College.

Brugh said he wants smaller class sizes and a big city vibe. The city’s atmosphere and social life are important to him, as is the individual attention of a more intimate classroom environment.

“I feel like it’s better to have teachers who can get to know you more,” Brugh said.

Samantha Terifay, a Fort Mill student, is also feeling the pull of big city life. Terifay, 17, spoke with USC Admissions Counselor Rebecca Fussnecker. The university is her first choice.

“I’ve been a few times and I love it there,” she said.

Terifay hasn’t decided what she wants to major in, but she knows she loves the campus.

“I can totally picture myself walking around there,” she said.

Nation Ford student Jayson Miller, 17, said he is looking at a handful of in-state schools, all with a common thread – near the coast.

“That’s where I’m trying to go, the beach,” he said. “I’m trying to get out of this small town.”

Cash, the rep from USC-Beaufort, said he wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to meet the areas’ seniors.

“We definitely wanted to make sure we came out here,” Cash said. “You all do have a great reputation.”

Patti Dinger, regional recruiter for The University of Alabama, agreed.

“We’ve gotten some pretty stellar students from Nation Ford and Fort Mill,” she said. “The whole Rock Hill, Fort Mill area, the schools are some of the top in the state. To be able to mingle with the seniors and help get them on the right track – it’s phenomenal.”

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Hundreds of seniors take the first step toward higher education."