Students anticipate rejection

     Often while applying for college, students are told that the hardest part is actually getting accepted to the school of one’s choice. However, this has not always proven to be true for all students at GCSU and several other Georgia colleges.
     Students who wish to major in education, business, nursing, mass communication and kinesiology have found that in addition to applying to college, they also have to apply to study their intended major. The students who are accepted into their major are ecstatic, but what happens to students that don’t get accepted?
     There are several options for those students, and Shaina McGill, the senior director of the center for student success, is the person that is of assistance when students find out that they have not been accepted.
     McGill realizes that “programs have become more competitive,” and finds that one of the best ways to get accepted actually starts with one’s mindset during their freshman year.
     Students, many times, believe that core classes are of no real importance. They believe that “once I hit my major, then I can become passionate,” said McGill. This tends to lead to students having lower GPAs; hence, they have a harder time getting accepted.
     To prevent students from reaching their junior year only to realize that their mindset may have slightly deterred their dreams, McGill has been giving informative speeches. These speeches are being given to freshman seminar classes and are used as encouragement tools that remind students to do one’s best.
     While solving the problem at the root is a great plan, some students fall into the category where this solution was created too late. These students seem to find themselves lost and confused about what their next move should be.
     When sitting down and talking to these students about their options, McGill always stays encouraging to insure that students aren’t turned away from their dreams. She always thinks, “What can we (GCSU) do that is supportive?”
     The only way to figure out each student’s individual situation is to have an “honest conversation.” In this conversation, McGill figures out what classes a student could possibly retake and improve their GPA. This option allows students to reapply with better standings.
     Another option McGill stresses is finding a minor that is related. This choice allows students to enhance their knowledge of the degree they are seeking. Just as the previous option, when students reapply, their standings are often better.
     Ultimately, McGill acknowledges the problem of students not getting into majors, and she is always searching for new ways to fix this problem before it becomes a crisis.
     Kimberly Strnad, a special education major, remembers when she applied to the program and the feelings she encountered.
     Thinking about the exciting program the special education cohort had to offer, helped to keep me from getting too anxious during my interview,” Strnad said.
     Mary Jean Land, the mass communication chair, believes that having seperate entry requirements leads to “small student to faculty ratio and quality rather than quantity.”
     Seperate requirements were put on many majors because they were growing so fast. Surprisingly, additional requirements has not seemed to turn people away from certain majors, but instead it seems that the amount of entries received is growing even faster.
     GCSU is not the only college that is experiencing an influx of applicants with only a certain amount of students that will be accepted. This has become an issue amongst many Georgia colleges. While causing students to apply for their major may seem like a hassle, it is creating students who are becoming more competitive when it comes to obtaining a higher level of education.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 21 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry