By Mary Presley
Upbeat and groovy music filled the ears of inquiring students and parents as they anxiously gathered on the second floor gym and hallways for Lane’s 38th Annual College Night held Thursday, March 22.
Students and parents had the opportunity to meet representatives from more than 160 colleges and universities, as well as branches of the military. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission also conducted two Financial Aid Seminars that assisted families in financing their ideal college education.
As students met with representatives, some realized that they were not the best fit for their dream schools and found new options. Others were confident and looked forward to college next year.
Lane Tech cheerleader Nicole Martens, Div. 385, dreamed of attending Northwestern University because she believed the school offered everything she needs.
“My dream college is a place with a good rank, close to home, and has a good med program,” Martens said.
Upon learning more about Northwestern, Martens felt discouraged upon discovering that she might not be Northwestern material.
“I’m not going to get in…no, not at all. I need to work on my ACT score and hopefully everything will work out,” said Martens.
Despite this bad news regarding her dream college, Martens is not throwing in the academic towel yet.
“They want you to visit their school and be a part of their community so you will have a better chance of getting in,” said Martens, who is planning to use her alumni connections to her advantage.
Martens is not the only student who discovered new things while attending College Night. Sophomore Ben Sodolski, Div. 479, discovered a potential new future.
“The Air Force appealed to me. It sounds pretty cool, learning how to fly a plane,” said Sodolski, who admits video games played a big part in his dreams of wanting to learn how to fly a plane.
Alex Garcia, Div. 372, also attended College Night and learned about different options for paying for college.
“Most schools give you lots of scholarships and financial aid,” said Garcia, who would like to attend Northwestern University.
Aisha Delgadillo, Div. 353, attended with her mom and also found out important financial information. She hopes to attend University of Wisconsin-Madison, but is unsure if she can afford the tuition.
“It is really high. It’s nearly $40,000, so I hope I get enough scholarships,” Delgadillo said.
Unlike most students, Brandon Zimony-Schmitt, Div. 378, has planned ahead for paying for college.
“I already have money saved for college,” said Zimony-Schmitt, who will still look for scholarships and financial aid support.
Most of the college representatives that attended the event spoke about the type of student that they looked forward to accepting.
“We look for a well-rounded student: very successful in academics, but shows they are a good leader, or have a talent like art or music,” said the representative from Spelman College, a four year liberal arts women’s college located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Most students with a GPA of 3.65 and an ACT composite score of 23 are eligible for acceptance at Spelman College.
Like most representatives at College Night, the Spelman representative had several selling points about her school to aid in recruitment.
“No other school has the Spelman sisterhood or alumni relationship Spelman has,” said the school’s rep, “and no other school teaches you how to be a woman leader.”
With high hopes and a healthy dose of optimism, Charlotte Molina, Div. 380, is sure she will attend DePaul University next year.
“It fits all my needs for business and I fit the needs for DePaul because of my ACT score and GPA,” said Molina. “I don’t want to be over confident, but I’m confident.”
Whether dreams were crushed or born anew, College Night helped many iffy students and parents feel a little more prepared about the important decision before them.
