SUNY schools' offerings touted

Nearly 500 high school juniors from Jefferson and Lewis counties were on the Jefferson Community College campus Tuesday morning to find out what they need to do to get into college.

It was SUNY Day 2010.

"Before, I was looking more towards private schools," said Heather N. House, 16, a junior at Carthage High School. "But I learned today that there are a lot of opportunities at SUNY schools. They're just as competitive as private schools and the cost isn't as high."

Students learned about scholarships and grants as financial aid, what majors different colleges offer and what they should look for to choose the right college.

More than 450 students from 11 area high schools gathered to hear Daniel B. Griffin, associate director of admissions for SUNY Oswego, and current Jefferson Community College students speak about the college application process. This was the ninth year that JCC has hosted the event for local high school students.

"The things that are most important for students to take away from this is about access and opportunity, especially of community colleges," Mr. Griffin said. "There are opportunities for even the people who didn't do that well in high school. No one can say 'I can't go to college because no one will let me in.'"

Mr. Griffin told students to explore by touring college campuses to make sure they would feel comfortable living there for four years.

Nicole K. Perry, a current Jefferson Community College student and a graduate of Immaculate Heart Central School, Watertown, was there to give the high school students advice and talk about her experience applying to colleges.

"I didn't know what I wanted to do, and it made sense to start out at a community college," Miss Perry told a group of students. "And because I was in the top of my high school class, my first year was free. That helped a lot, because I want to go to medical school and will end up with about eight years of college."

About 10 SUNY institutions set up booths in the gymnasium where they gave students information and answered questions about their campuses and programs. The institutions that attended the event included SUNY Oswego, SUNY Canton and Upstate Medical University, Syracuse.