UNT System
The Universities Center at Dallas (UCD), the University of North Texas System, and the Dallas Independent School District sponsored a program at UCD designed to help 700 DISD seniors get into colleges next fall.
The students, from eight high schools in the Superintendent’s Learning Community — those having a low number of students attending colleges and universities — attended two key-skills sessions, Admission Application & Financial Aid and Essay Writing for Admission and Scholarships. It was an intensive, hour-and-a-half program that may make a substantial difference in the lives of these students, all of whom have passed the TAKS. The guided, hands-on sessions included use of the computer labs to fill out electronic college applications and they also learned to write focused and successful essays.
The event also featured a college recruiter fair in the UCD lobby with several colleges and universities answering questions about majors and helping students understand the application process. Schools represented were: University of North Texas, UNT Dallas Campus, Texas Woman’s University, Texas A&M (Commerce), and the University of Texas at Arlington.
Raúl Hinojosa, recruitment and outreach coordinator with UNT-Dallas said that he was, “Extremely happy with the program. Because of superb pre-event preparation of the students by the DISD, we were able to quickly give students valuable take-aways like outlines for scholarship essays and on-computer help with admissions forms.”
Because of the success of the event, Hinojosa said that there will definitely be similar programs in the future.
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| Escalators were jammed with students heading to classrooms and a computer lab. | With staff guidance, they used the computers in the lab to fill out electronic applications to colleges and universities. |
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| Three different "Fleets" of students from eight different high schools arrived over the course of the day. | UNT Dallas Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator Raul Hinojosa discussed focused scholarship essays. |
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| During their visit, seniors were able to visit representatives at the booths of the University of North Texas, UNT Dallas Campus, Texas Woman's University, Texas A&M (Commerce), and the University of Texas at Arlington. | |
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| Recruiters and current students in each booth answered a wide range of questions, helped students understand application processes, discussed majors, and passed out lots of printed information. | |
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| Different groups of students shifted on a tight schedule between classrooms, the computer lab and the recruiter fair. | Eva Resendez led an essential class covering financial aid issues. |