The bright-eyed junior opens the doors to the newly renovated Jesuit cafeteria. The energy of the room astounds him. Hundreds of students buzz around the dozens of college booths occupying the reinvigorated space. It’s clear to see, the 2018 Jesuit-Hosted College Night has begun.

What is College Night at Jesuit?

On Tuesday, September 11, Jesuit hosted over 200 colleges at their annual college night. From 7:00 – 9:00 pm, students from Jesuit, Ursuline, Cistercian, Bishop Lynch, and John Paul II came to the Jesuit campus. Jesuit’s goal? To expose the juniors to the college-admission process and create potential interests in the minds of the students. As Jesuit Junior Javier Arroyo ‘20 explained:

“I found College Night to be a very immersive and educational experience. I gained valuable insight into the intricacies of the application process for various schools and feel more confident and excited about my future overall.”

How does it work?

Representatives from numerous colleges ranging from state colleges such as the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma to Ivy Leagues such as Harvard to the cosmetic university of Ogle School of Hair, Skin & Nails set up booths throughout the Jesuit gyms, cafeteria, and the Terry Center. Students and their parents are given pamphlets showing the locations of various colleges. Some of the more well-known schools, such as Georgetown and A&M, are given presentation times for parents to sit in and listen to admissions, school culture, and general knowledge about the respective school. Or as Jesuit tennis star Thomas Cluck ‘20 said:

“I really learned a lot about how selective the college process is and how each university is so different in how they do things and in the student life at their school. Each school I visited presented me with so many interesting potential opportunities and it really excited me about all the fun and challenging opportunities awaiting me in my future. One of my biggest takeaways was how each university really wanted to see you, your passions, your stories, your style in applying and how crucial that is to succeed in the college admission process.”

College Night has been a tradition at Jesuit for decades, and Mr. Paul McDaniel (the organizer of the event) has seen most of it all:

“Jesuit / Ursuline began sharing the hosting of College Night in the mid-80’s.  In the late 90’s it became apparent the event had outgrown Ursuline so Jesuit agreed to be the permanent host school. The central location, display space and a familiar site year to year for the reps to come to were the major selling points.

“Mr. Lingel & I both spend the first 1 ½ guiding college reps to the check-in desk and welcoming students from other schools navigate the college night floor plan.  After most people are inside, we both separate and answer questions from our own students about schools they might want to talk to.

“The format has really not changed that much since I went to my first college night in 1994.  It has grown larger and a wider variety of schools from around the country has increased but the format – tables for browsing areas and schools who prefer presentations has remained consistent.  Some schools still send local alumni to man a table but more colleges send reps who work for the colleges than ever before. They have firsthand knowledge about financial assistance, dorm life, academic rigor, the types of topics which interest prospective students.”

Overall, College Night has become a tradition in the Jesuit life, serving as a means for Junior to expose themselves further to both colleges they were previously interested in and colleges they didn’t even know they were interested in. Stay tuned to The Roundup for all things Jesuit academics.