On Tuesday, September 11, students rushed out of school for early dismissal at 12:25. As elated as they were about completing all their classes before lunchtime, most of them would all be back at Jesuit by 7:00 that night for the annual College Night.
The night was a huge success, as it is almost every year. Mr. Chris Blackwell, senior college counselor and one of the directors of the event, said, “From the very beginning when the freshman set up tables, to the ambassadors who helped the college representatives bring in their materials, to the end when the rugby team helped clean up, the night went very well.” It was a packed house too, with approximately 250 college representatives in attendance and what Mr. Blackwell described as “a steady amount of student traffic throughout the entire two hours.”
This year space was expanded into the practice gym because of a problem with packed hallways of eager students in previous years. But what didn’t change was the positive impression that Jesuit students continue to make on the college representatives. “The new space really helped alleviate the traffic problem, and I have reps repeatedly tell me how much they enjoy our fair because of how well informed and prepared the students are, and that they ask great questions expressing their interests,” said Mr. Blackwell.
As usual, The University of Texas at Austin brought in a ton of interest from students. Emilio Chavez ’14 commented that
“their presentation pretty much convinced me that I wanted to go there.” Throughout the night, the most popular colleges, such as Texas and Texas A&M, were given designated areas in Hughes Hall and the Lecture Hall, respectively, to give multiple presentations throughout the night to crowds of students and parents.
College Night was also a great success in informing parents about the college process and finding out what colleges would be best for their kids. “The return from parents was strong, the night went extremely well,” said Mr. David Oglesby, senior counselor for the college admissions process.
Parents like Anita Wheeler, mother of junior John Wheeler, raved, “Tt was very impressive how many colleges were in one place. It was a bit overwhelming at times but we got a lot of information and every college we talked to was very helpful.”
Father of Drew Goethals ’14, Mike Goethals, was also very impressed saying, “It was fantastic to see several hundred schools from all across the country coming to recruit our kids. The choices our students have are amazing; I’ve really never seen anything like it.”
However, parents weren’t the only ones who were impressed with the event and all of the colleges attending; the students who came with open minds and an eager attitude also found that College Night was a very enriching experience.
Jeff Melsheimer ’14 said, “I really like the Notre Dame people, and I’ve always wanted to go there. But, every rep I talked to was very helpful and it was nice to see how many options I have, and it makes the decision a little less scary knowing I have so many choices.”
Junior Grant Torres agrees: “I’ve always kind of known what I wanted to do as far as college goes, at least had an idea, but College Night really showed me that I have so much to look forward to.”
The annual College Night at Jesuit is always informative, and this year was no different. Everyone who attended left the event feeling more knowledgeable and prepared for the college application process, and that constitutes a success at College Night.
