Barton Community College will help area high school juniors plan for their futures at Junior Day, starting at 9 a.m. Feb. 15, with a sign-up deadline of Feb. 1. Those interested can sign up at juniorday.bartonccc.edu.
Junior Day will feature campus tours, info sessions with admissions, observation of the college classroom setting in two areas of interest and two scholarship drawings for three-credit-hour face-to-face classes with books included.
Director of Admissions Tana Cooper encourages all juniors in the area to attend and experience classes in their intended major.
“Normal classes will be in session on this day, so they will get to see how the students interact on a daily basis,” she said.
The inspiration for Junior Day came primarily from students who asked for an event of this type on campus, Cooper said. Barton’s Upward Bound program has invited junior students to do “class shadowing,” and Cooper thought it made sense to open that opportunity to everyone.
At Barton’s annual Senior Day, students meet with advisors to talk about classes they will take and mapping their educational pathway.
“Junior Day is more about getting the classroom feel and helping choose a major,” Cooper said. “There is a trend in students wanting to pick a school earlier and earlier. The amount of campus tours we are doing for juniors has increased a lot over the last year or so.”
There are 80 students signed up, and Cooper hopes to see 100 at Junior Day. They will tour the campus, and students who want to stay for lunch will be treated to a meal in the Student Union.
“I would like each student to walk away knowing that college classes aren’t scary or overwhelming,” Cooper said. “I want them to enjoy sitting in the classroom and get excited about their upcoming program that they are going to be part of. I would like these students going into their senior year already knowing that Barton is the right choice for them.”