A resounding success: 95 percent of WBHS seniors at event accepted to college

Many West Bloomfield High School seniors with hopes of attending college didn’t have to look any farther than the school’s gymnasium on Wednesday, Oct. 17.

The school hosted its second annual on-site admissions fair, where admissions counselors from colleges and universities from across the state were in attendance to give students a jump-start before the unofficial Nov. 1 deadline for early admission consideration.

When it was over, 95 percent of the seniors at the event gained admission to at least one of the universities or colleges on hand, according to West Bloomfield High School Assistant Principal Mara Hoffert.

In addition, Hoffert said four students were awarded full scholarships to the University of Michigan-Dearborn and over $750,000 in scholarship money was offered to students.

“It was amazing to watch our students earn acceptance into college and see their reactions to the reward for all of their hard work,” Hoffert said. “We are proud to have doubled the amount of colleges participating in our event, which generated over $750,000 in scholarship money for our students.”

Institutions represented at the fair included Oakland Community College and the University of Detroit-Mercy, as well as Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan universities.

Also on hand were representatives from Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Saginaw Valley State and Grand Valley State universities. Two Ohio schools, the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, were also represented.

Seniors also had the chance to take an aptitude test and attend seminars on scholarship opportunities and preparing for college.

One session was presented by Oakland University called “Getting Ready for College,” which gave students advice on college life — ranging from choosing a course schedule, navigating around a campus and community, and getting along with roommates.

“I have been a counselor for many years and nothing is quite as gratifying as to see one of our students walk across the gymnasium with a little more bounce in their step and the biggest smile possible after getting news of acceptance from the university of their choice,” said Charles Sanders, a West Bloomfield High School counselor who helped with the event.

Students at the event were also provided transcripts and ACT scores free of charge by West Bloomfield High School to go toward university fee applications.