During the month of October, freshmen and sophomores were given the opportunity to visit local universities. The purpose of this trip was to expose students to college life and get them excited about their post-secondary planning.
The sophomore college trips were planned according to students’ GPA and 9th grade EXPLORE scores, so that students were able to attend a “match” school. Students were engaged in understanding the admissions requirements, comparing those with their current performance, and then allowed to rank which school they wanted to attend. Groups visited Loyola University, Chicago State, North Park University, University of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, Olivet Nazarene University, and University of Illinois at Chicago. The trips received great feedback from staff and teachers alike.
The freshman college trips were also successful due to the collaboration of our teachers, students, and staff. Freshmen were split into four groups, allowing them to attend either Concordia University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Olivet Nazarene University, or Loyola University. Trips for freshman served as at motivation for students to start strong in their high school careers. When reflecting on his trip, freshman Romeo Davila said, “A personal goal I have set for myself is to keep my 4.0 GPA or higher. I just need my teachers to keep training me correctly and have GEAR UP keep motivating me.”