PHILADELPHIA  – Nearly 100 high-achieving high school sophomores and juniors, including 17 Native Hawaiians, will be on the University of Pennsylvania campus June 23-29 to take part in College Horizons 2012. This nationwide program provides students of American Indian, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian ethnicity with the counseling, resources and culturally relevant information they can use to gain admission to and complete college.

During the weeklong program, the attending students will work with 70 college admissions staffers, school counselors, writing specialists, standardized-test educators and tribal elders to gain the skills necessary to successfully navigate the process.  The program also offers workshops at which the students can make connections and learn what it takes to succeed.  

The sessions also give students the chance to learn about and compile a list of potential college destinations that might interest them, based on factors important to them.  By the end of the program, they will also expect to complete the federal financial-aid form, a college admissions essay and standardized test tutorials.

“The students will be housed in Penn residence halls, where they’ll have the opportunity to experience the social side of campus life,” said Tina Pierce Fragoso, coordinator of Native American recruitment in the Penn undergraduate admissions office. “And four Penn students of Native American heritage will also take part in the program, offering their personal experiences on student life at a large urban university and the leadership opportunities it provides.”

Penn has been a partner with College Horizons for more than seven years, supporting the non-profit’s increased recruitment efforts.

The College Horizons staff invites local high school students and their families to attend the program’s college fair from 2 to 3:30 p.m., Thursday, June 28.  Open to the public, the fair will be held in the Hall of Flags in Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St., where representatives of 35 colleges, post-graduate-year programs and scholarship and test-preparation agencies will be on hand to talk about the college-selection process. 

Additional information about the college fair is available by contacting Camille Green at clgreen@admissions.upenn.edu.