For the thousands of high school seniors who come to visit IU each year, making a decision about going to college is a life-changing experience. Of those thousands, those who do attend IU made their decision based on a visit to campus and had some kind of interaction with a tour guide from the University.\nA meeting will be held at 7 p.m. today in Woodburn Hall, Room 101 for all IU students looking to help high school students with their decision process. \nThe Office of Admissions knows from research and experience the opportunity to interact with current students is a major factor in high school students' decisions of where to apply for college, and also where to ultimately attend, said Sarah Thompson, senior assistant director of admissions.\n"Current students have always been an extremely critical part of the IU recruitment process," she said in an e-mail. "As long as I know of, we have had opportunities for students to volunteer and represent IU. I think as the years have gone on, that process has become more formalized and intentional."\nDepending on what the students' interest is, people are needed in the following areas: Campus Tour Guides, HOST or Multicultural Outreach Recruitment Educators. The following information was taken from e-mails sent to the IDS by the Office of Admissions.
Campus Tour Guides\nThese guides talk to prospective students about various aspects of campus including the popular myth that the Main Library is sinking a quarter of an inch a year. They volunteer one hour of their time to guide the walking tours around campus. The guides must be smart, positive and enjoy speaking in front of groups. For more information, contact Willis Cheaney at wcheaney@indiana.edu.
Host Program\nThis unique program is designed to give high school students a sneak peak of life at the IUB campus. Those who choose to take on this responsibility will have a high school senior stay with them in their residence hall, attend classes, talk with professors and take a campus tour. For more information, contact Becky Kinnon at rkinnon@indiana.edu.
More Program\nThis program will help the Office of Admissions recruit minority students to IU. If selected, students would be required to spend more time at this activity than at the other two possibilities. During the year, MORE members participate in programs held on campus for minority high school students such as "IU Reach" and "Multicultural Open House." In addition to the programs, selected students would call minority students who have been admitted to the University to congratulate them and answer concerns they might have about attending IU. For more information, contact Larry Gonzalez at lgonzale@indiana.edu.
Thompson said about 100 students usually turn out for the meeting, which is held annually. \n"We have students representing all aspects of campus -- all academic schools, many different states, many different majors and student organizations, different grade levels, etc to be as truly representative of our student body as possible," she said.
