High school students get taste of the college life

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Story Published: Jun 28, 2007 at 5:46 PM PDT

By Meghan Kalkstein

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Corvallis - A majority of Oregon high school graduates enroll in some type of higher education. But at the same time, overall college enrollment is decreasing. There is a program to boost those numbers.

It's the third year Oregon State University is offering a program to entice high school students to higher education. It's aimed at encouraging the teenagers to become college bound.

27 students are heading to a thesis writing class at O.S.U. Thursday, and they're looking at things with fresh eyes. That's because they're not 27 experienced college students, but high school teens. And they're all here to learn about campus life through a program called 'A Taste of College.

"They learn a lot about themselves they learn a lot about college they experience some college classes like the writing class we just finished here," says Dave Moore with the University Outreach and Engagement.

"They're one of the few colleges that offer a program for high school students to come and explore what college is kind of like before you go to college," says Bradford Novy a high school senior from California.

And that includes dorm life. "Living in the dorms they're actually a lot smaller when you have to live in them," says Jimmy Rosacker, a senior from Oregon.

You might think that all of the students in this program come from Oregon but actually seven of them are from Hawaii. Many of them say they came to O.S.U. just to check out what mainland schools have to offer.

"I believe the mainland has more out there for me and I really would love to move here so I decided why not do a program in the mainland rather than Hawaii, says Lauren Nakamura, a senior from Hawaii.

Even though some of these students say they may not apply to O.S.U. officials say the program is about getting them headed in the right direction.

"That confidence and some of the skill sets we've added to it will make it a big difference I think," says Moore.

"You know it makes me want to go to college and succeed," says Novy.

The program costs $950 dollars, and students will get two course credits.

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