WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 music. 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.000 Rob Findtner: Today, I'm going to cover some areas such as admissions, 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.000 recap about housing, we had Skyler from university housing earlier, but to talk about 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.000 housing but also scholarships, we know that's very important to students 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:22.000 and we know there are some parents that have been participating today or who might be logging on for the first time and watching the webcast. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:25.000 So I'm going to make sure they cover scholarships as well, 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:30.000 but I think we'll start with admissions, we know some of you have been admitted, and congratulations by the way, 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.000 And some of you might be perspective students, seniors this year, transfer students, or you might be a junior and you're curious 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:41.000 what the requirements are for Western Oregon, as a first time freshman or even as a transfer student. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.000 And so first of all, if you are high school senior, freshman applicant, 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:54.000 What we're looking for a 2.75 cumulative GPA. And really what we're looking at is unweighted GPA, we know that some of you 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:60.000 that your high school has a weighted as well as an unweighted GPA, so what we're looking at is the unweighted GPA, so that is 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:08.000 something that you need to be aware of as an applicant "What's my unweighted GPA?" so it's a 2.75 or higher. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.000 Now we do need ACT or SAT scores. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:16.000 And either exam is just fine, I get that question quite a bit. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:25.000 Or if you've taken both or plan to, that's fine 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:31.000 and what we use the scores for could be for an alternative to the GPA requirement 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:35.000 for scholarship opportunities, honors programs consideration, 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:42.000 placement into courses for first time freshmen, so we're looking at those scores, but if a student 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:46.000 meet that cumulative GPA requirement, the 2.75 or higher 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:51.000 then we can admit with the condition that you get scores to us, we know that some seniors 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:58.000 you are maybe scheduled to take one of the exams maybe it's this month, in the winter, but we want to make sure that we do get those scores. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:01:63.000 Also there are some core subjects you need to address, 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.000 by graduation, really this is requirement for all of the public universities, 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.000 in Oregon, and so first of all, what we're looking for is 4 years of English. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.000 So, I think for many seniors, I think you're taking an English class, 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:24.000 as we speak, or it could be writing class, or you know, could be an AP class that fits in that category, so 4 years of English. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:29.000 You know also, 3 years of Math. And we really want you to get through Algebra 2. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:37.000 Now if you're beyond Algebra 2, that's fantastic, the more math, the better. But we're looking for at least through algebra 2 when it's all said and done. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:40.000 Also 3 years of science. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.000 And the preference is that 2 years are a lab science, so biology, 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:49.000 chemistry, a course that's had a lab component, but that's our preference and you'll find that 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:56.000 our science classes at Western Oregon are also lab based, so you'll be taking a chemistry class you have the lecture, 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:60.000 and the lab. Also 3 years of social studies, 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.000 or social science, could be history, psychology, global studies, 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:09.000 many courses can address that requirement and then last but not least, 2 years 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:12.000 of the same second or foreign language. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.000 So Spanish, German, our students from the state of Hawaii, if you taken Hawaiian that counts. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Even American Sign Language. We know that many students have an interest in American Sign Language or ASL 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.000 because of the programs we have here at Western Oregon, that works for us as well. 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:32.000 So once again, we're looking at the GPA, we do want your standardized test scores and then those core subjects as well. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:39.000 So for a transfer student this would be a student who has already graduated from high school, 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:46.000 And what we're looking for is 36 transferrable quarter hours, and for the community colleges, 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:53.000 in the state of Oregon as well as the public universities, they're on the quarter system, or it could be 24 semester hours, so perhaps you're attending an institution 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:59.000 that's on the semester system, and when it comes to transferable hours, what we're really referring to 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.000 are courses that are at the 100 level or higher, so a great example would be 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:10.000 from an Oregon Community College, Writing 121 or History 201. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:14.000 Those are considered transferable courses, so the 100 level or higher. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:21.000 If for example a student took Math 95 at an Oregon Community College, maybe that was the appropriate place 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:29.000 for a student to start with Mathematics, but it would not transfer to Western Oregon, but once again that was the appropriate place for a student to start. So if you're 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:34.000 transferring to Western Oregon, or in general just transferring credits, you want to make sure they're at the 100 level or higher. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:42.000 When it comes to the GPA requirement, it's a 2.25 cumulative GPA that we're looking for, for a transfer student. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:51.000 So 2.25 or higher, and then we do have some specific requirements when it comes to certain disciplines or areas such as writing, so we're looking for 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.000 Writing 121 or the equivalent with a C minus or better. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:63.000 And then Math 105 and it should actually be 111, so you see there's the two 105, so it should be math 105, 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:08.000 Or 111, and sometimes that's going to be dictated by whether you're pursing a Bachelor of Arts, 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:15.000 Or a Bachelor of Science at Western Oregon can dictate that but there is a grade requirement of a C minus or better. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:22.000 If I had to say one issue transfer students may have when it comes to our applicant poll, it's the math requirements 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:28.000 So that is very important for Western Oregon, is the math as well as the writing. Now if you're a high school senior, 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.000 that is pursuing college credit, whether that is through advanced placement, 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:37.000 or international baccalaureate, or running start students in the state of Washington, we know that it's 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:42.000 become very prevalent that students are earning college credit, you would not be considered a transfer student 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:49.000 if you're graduating from high school or earning your diploma this May or June, we get that question quite a bit "Am I a transfer student?" 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:07.000 So for a student that is graduating in 2016, this spring, 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 We're going to be looking at what is that graduation year, when are you earning that diploma, 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:18.000 that's the most important thing, so since there can be some confusion about that. Now I do want to go back to 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:22.000 our comprehensive admission review slide quickly 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:30.000 Because there are some instances where a student maybe is not meeting our initial requirements for admission, 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:39.000 and there are some alternatives potentially so if a student is not meeting our initial requirements, that file will come to my attention for review. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:45.000 And a couple different ways it could go, it could be some further information that I'll review, or it could be the student 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:49.000 is referred to our comprehensive admission review committee, we meet once a month, 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:53.000 to review files, so a student applies for admission, provides a transcript, 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:59.000 test scores if they're a high school senior freshman applicant, transfer students don't have to worry about scores, 00:06:59.000 --> 00:06:65.000 and we'll be looking one is a personal statement, so if there have been any special circumstances 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:10.000 that have affected your academic performance we'd like to know about that and it's different for every student, 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:14.000 I've read over the years many personal statements, 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:20.000 and each students brings something different to the table and many students that are on this campus have overcome 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:25.000 some very serious obstacles that are performing very well that perhaps had to go through this committee review. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.000 Three letters of recommendation are also required. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:34.000 And they must come from individuals that can speak to the students academic potential, preparation, 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.000 and they can address challenges that the students have faced, whether that is a transfer student maybe at a current 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 Four year or two year institution, or for a high school senior that's had some challenges 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:52.000 So it's very important once again that they come from individuals that can address your academic preparation, potential, why they think you can succeed at Western Oregon. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.000 So, sorry Mom, dad, we know you know your students very well, 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:60.000 but you cannot provide a letter of recommendation, or another challenge that we see sometimes 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:08.000 is perhaps we'll get a letter from a coach, you know when it comes to athletics, but they don't speak to the students academic ability, potential 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.000 or challenges they've had the in classroom, it's more of a focus on athletics, which is great 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:15.000 But that's not really what the committee is looking for, 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:23.000 So, if you have questions about this committee review process, we encourage you to reach out to the office of admissions, to speak to an admissions counselor like myself, 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:30.000 We'd be more than happy to address those questions. So next I'm going to jump to 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:36.000 our application procedures, so if you're ready to apply, then we can 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.000 get you set up in terms of what is required for that process 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:45.000 Alright, so first of all Western Oregon has a rolling admission policy, 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:49.000 so we do take applications throughout the year, and there are some deadlines that you need to be aware of, 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:55.000 but we do take applications right up until the start of a given term, and I would discourage that because of certain deadlines that pertain to 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:60.000 scholarships, finanical aid, even just access to courses, 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 that really meets your needs, etcetera, the sooner the better. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:10.000 And we do offer the paper application or most students will apply for admission online and we'll take either application 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:18.000 Also, we do need official transcripts, from each and every institution that a students has attended, so if you're a high school senior, 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:24.000 then we'd obviously need your official high school transcript, and if you are earning college credit, that's being granted by another institution, 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:28.000 we'll want that official transcript and usually what we tell high school seniors 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:34.000 is you can wait until the spring if you're taking courses through graduation, pardon me, then you may want to wait until the spring, 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:37.000 to have that transcript sent to us. If you're a transfer student, 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:43.000 just be aware that we need official transcripts from each and every institution that you have attended so, 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:49.000 if that's two institutions that you have attended we want to make sure from both those institutions, 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:56.000 that institutions will transcript or review courses differently, or how they award credit, etcetera. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:60.000 And so even if you transfer from another institution and they articulate a review that course work 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.000 we still want to have those transcripts from each institution, so just be aware of that. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:10.000 For freshman once again we need a copy of your ACT, or SAT scores. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:16.000 Or if you've taken both then great, we want both. And then there is a 60 dollar admission application fee that is non refundable. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:23.000 Some students may qualify for a deferment for the application fee and if they do enroll at Western Oregon in the fall, 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:29.000 they are responsible for paying that application fee, so the student will be billed for that, it is not a waiver. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:35.000 But now, Western Oregon is also accepting the College Board application fee waiver. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.000 So if a student does qualify for the College Board application fee wavier, 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:46.000 You want to make sure they get that sent to the office of admissions, and the application fee is waived, so this is a new development, 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:52.000 For Western Oregon. One question I get when it comes to payments, deferrals, waivers, is 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:56.000 You now, what if I apply for admission online and I submit without payment, is that okay? 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:60.000 And there's a couple different options, you call into the admission's office and pay over the telephone, 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:04.000 nothing wrong with that, by credit card, you can send a check. Or you could say, 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.000 I have a deferral or waiver that I need to send in, that can be faxed in, you could mail that, 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.000 in, you could have that scanned by your high school counselor, they can send that in. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:18.000 There really isn't a right way or a wrong way to approach it, but you technically submit without payment, we just want to make sure we get that payment. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.000 Or deferral, wavier, etcetera, so 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:28.000 those are the items that we'd be looking for when it comes to admission to Western Oregon in terms of the required documents, or steps. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:34.000 Next I'm going to jump into Western Oregon scholarships, we know that that is very important to every student, 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:40.000 their family or whoever is supporting the processes, how do we pay for my education at Western Oregon. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:46.000 I'm going to start with presidential scholarships, and these are for first time freshman. So for transfer students, 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:51.000 hold on, we'll get to the provost transfer scholarship in just a moment but for first time freshmen, 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:59.000 high school seniors, this would pertain to you. And a separate application is not required for the presidential scholarship, 00:11:59.000 --> 00:11:65.000 So, we're using the admission application to make decisions about the presidential scholarships. 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:14.000 So you want to make sure that your admission application is complete by the 26th of February, once again the 26th of February 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:20.000 is our scholarship deadline, if I say there's any deadline or date that you remember 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:25.000 this afternoon or moving forward, it's our scholarship deadline, of the 26th, I just want to reenforce that. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.000 And once again, your admission application, must be complete, 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:33.000 and what we're looking for when it comes to the presidential scholarship, is a minimum 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:41.000 cumulative GPA of 3.4, and then a composite score of 21 on the ACT 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:47.000 Or just on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT a 1000, so if the student had a 3.4, 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:55.000 And let's say a 21 on the ACT, they would be awarded 1,500 dollars for the presidential scholarship and this is renewable 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:64.000 For 4 years, so that's great news, if you get a presidential scholarship, it is renewable the key is as a Western Oregon Student you just have to make sure to keep up the good work 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:11.000 in the classroom, that you attend class, do everything you can to keep that presidential scholarship, so you have that for 4 years. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:16.000 And there's not a step that you have to take every year or reapply, it's just an automatic process as long as you're 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.000 keeping up the good work in the classroom. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:24.000 And you can see we go as high as 5,500 dollars, you can see it's a 3.9 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:32.000 cumulative GPA or a 1420 on the SAT that would get you a 5,500 dollar presidential scholarship. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:40.000 As a student at Western Oregon I had a renewable scholarship and I was very grateful to know that I had that scholarship waiting for me very year, 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.000 at Western Oregon. So that's our presidential scholarship and if you have any other comments about the presidential scholarship 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:49.000 As I mentioned, our deadline is the 26th so if you are perhaps taking 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:53.000 one of the standardized exams, SAT or ACT for the first time, 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:58.000 then you want to make sure you get those scores to us, or what I often hear from students or even parents is that 00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:64.000 You know "I took the ACT in my junior year, and" say hypothetically "I get a score of 20" 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:25.000 We want to make sure that we just get that score in and we always want to work with the student, 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:31.000 in terms of making sure they can get a presidential scholarship, so we're happy to evaluate those new scores 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:35.000 as they come in, just the key is you have to get those scores in by the 26th of February. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:42.000 So, continuing with the scholarship, I talked about transfer students and Provost transfer scholarship 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:49.000 So similar to the presidential scholarship, a separate application is not required for the provost transfer scholarship 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:54.000 Once again you want to make sure that your admission application is complete 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:58.000 by the 26th of February, have everything in that we need for a transfer student, 00:14:58.000 --> 00:14:63.000 and you do have to have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.000 Once again, 3.5 GPA. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:15.000 And this is a scholarships that's 1500 dollars a year, and renewable for 2 years for transfer students we have that mindset and goal that you're going to be 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:22.000 finishing your degree in what we hope is 2 years, so it's 2 year renewable scholarship for the Provost transfer. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.000 And continuing with the scholarships, something else I want to talk about are our general scholarships 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:36.000 and our diversity commitment scholarship and I actually have some new news when it comes to the general scholarship and diversity commitment, 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:45.000 is that Western Oregon has invested in some new scholarship software and that should be released next week, they're still doing some 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:48.000 testing on that, getting some final detail ironed out, 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:54.000 But a student will be able to use our new software program to apply for general scholarships, so they'll be able to log in, 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:60.000 and determine what general scholarships they may be eligible for and many of these scholarships 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:07.000 are funded by Western Oregon Alumni, donors, friends of the institution as well so some have very specific criteria as well etctera, 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.000 But you'll log in and create an account, and an application for the general scholarships 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:20.000 and typically a general scholarship, the merit based, will require a 3.0 GPA 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:25.000 So whether you're a transfer student or a first time freshmen, your cumulative GPA needs to be a 3.0 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:31.000 And then for the first time this year, the diversity commitment scholarship will no longer be a paper application it will be apart of 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:40.000 this new software program and you'll complete that application online so that's great news for us, we don't have to worry about handling paper anymore for the diversity commitment scholarship, 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 and so you'll be able to complete that using this new software program. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.000 So as soon as you log in and review those scholarships you'll see diversity commitment. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:54.000 The diversity commitment scholarship, they do factor in your academic performance, but they also look at factors such as, are you a first generation, 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.000 college student? 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:62.000 Can you demonstrate financial need? So the committee for diversity commitment, can reach out to our financial aid office 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:08.000 and determine, have you applied for financial aid, what was your expected family contribution or EFC? Do you have 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.000 financial need and how great is that need when it's all said and done? 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:19.000 But the most important thing is how have you demonstrated a commitment to diversity and that's pretty broadly defined and that can be based on 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:24.000 life experiences, things you've done within your school, within your community, but how have you been an advocate 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.000 and have you demonstrated commitment to diversity? 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:32.000 And they typically award 50 diversity commitment scholarships each year. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:36.000 And those are open to first time freshmen and transfer students. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:44.000 Renewable for 4 years at 4,000 dollars. So another substantial scholarship of encouraging to look at the diversity commitment scholarship. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:51.000 And with these they also have a February 26th deadline, so once again your admission file needs to be complete, 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:58.000 and you need to have these forms or applications completely and submitted online by 5pm by that date. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:67.000 The next area is University housing, and we had Skyler earlier this afternoon that was answering questions via live chat but just a reminder that 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.000 for first time freshmen, you are required to live in University operated housing. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:18.000 And there is a an exception if you live within a 30 mile radius of campus, 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:24.000 you can petition to live off campus, but the key is you have to demonstrate that you're living with a legal guardian or parents 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:29.000 It cant be "well, my good friend already goes to Western Oregon, we're going to live in a house together." 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:34.000 Unless they are your legal guardian, if you can prove that, demonstrate that to university housing, no problem at all, 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:43.000 But in general you have to demonstrate you're living at home with a legal guardian, parent or parents when it's all said and done and we encourage students 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:47.000 or you know, family members, to reach out to university housing if you have questions about that. 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:54.000 Of course we have great options for transfer students, in terms of upperclass housing, and really encourage you if you did not have that experience at your 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:58.000 your current or prior institution to really consider living on campus, 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:64.000 for your first year, to connect with other students, to feel like you're apart of the Western Oregon community. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:10.000 I really encourage you to do that and I always remind students as you're filling out the application, even if you do have a roommate, 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:15.000 preference, let's say its a fellow senior at your high school, or 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:22.000 a student that you know that goes to another high school, that's a good friends, or even sometimes I'll hear cousins make that decision, they may go to different high schools, 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.000 And that's great, to list an individual as your preferred roommate, 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:30.000 but make sure that you also fill out the roommate questionnaire, in the event that 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.000 things don't work out, if the student decides to go elsewhere, doesn't want to be your roommate, 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:40.000 when it's all said and done, that housing can always look at that questionnaire that you filled out and make sure they have a good match. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:45.000 When it's all said and done. Also, certain buildings will require that you have a meal plan. 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:51.000 And that for first time freshmen you will be required to have a meal plan, and when it comes to upper housing that can 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:56.000 vary as well, Arbor Park apartments does not require a meal plan, you've a full kitchen, 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:61.000 and Butler hall, some of the units do have a kitchenette, so that can vary as well. 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:08.000 But you want to make sure that you select a meal plan when it comes to filling out the housing application too, you want to make sure that you 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:13.000 at least have access to food and are eating and I know for students that your parents or whoever is supporting the process, 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:16.000 feels good about that too, they worry about those things. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:22.000 And if you have not visited campus, consider coming down for a winter preview day where you can actually eat, 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:27.000 in Valsetz dining hall, and try the food or maybe if you're just down for a campus tour, 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:32.000 walk on over and try out Valsetz, they do take cash, debit or credit card and try the food, 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:40.000 and see what you think, because we know that's an important part of your experience. The other thing I'll mention about housing as well is the earlier the better. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:48.000 When it comes to applying, housing will look at factors such as when did you actually submit your housing application, looking at your building preferences, 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.000 The sooner the better, especially if you're very set on certain buildings 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:57.000 that increases your likelihood, they opened up the application process October 1. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:63.000 And so they have been taking applications for a little time now, but the sooner the better, but I encourage you to come and visit campus 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:09.000 And make sure you see the residence halls in person I think that's really important to see which buildings resonate with you 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:14.000 and so traditionally our afternoon and weekday tours include the residence halls, which are preview day 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:22.000 even our other visitation dates could potentially include the residential dates, so we want your to see them in person, there's also some great 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:32.000 videos on wou/tv of the residence halls where you can take a virtual tour and se the halls and see the rooms, I think it's very important to do that. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:37.000 If you have not seen the residence halls, I encourage you to do that first, look at the wou/tv videos, 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:40.000 come and visit or maybe visit before, come down for another visit 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.000 and just confirm which buildings are your top three choices when it's all said and done. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:47.000 So that's a little bit about housing. 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:52.000 Now for those students that have been admitted, congratulations once again, WOU said yes. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:60.000 And we encourage you, you may recall when you looked at your acceptance letter there was a link for our admitted student page 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:07.000 the WOU said yes page, there's a great video that's been created for you that's hosted by one of our current students, 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:12.000 Make sure you watch that video and look at some of those different links, but just a recap in terms of, 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:17.000 make sure you apply for scholarships, do that no latter than February 26th. 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:20.000 Apply for housing as soon as possible, 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.000 But also create your account for the Western Oregon Portal. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:28.000 Or the WOU Portal, and the Portal is where you log in to access different information, 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:33.000 it's where you can see your email, as well as with the portal you can kind of track 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:36.000 are you admitted to the institution, the answer should be yes. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:42.000 What's the status of your housing application, has financial aid received your free application, federal student aid 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:50.000 etcetera, and we also talked about this new scholarship software you'll be able to access that scholarships information through your portal 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:55.000 So you want to make sure that you visit the WOU said yes page and there's an information link about setting up 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:58.000 your account for the Western Oregon Portal you want to get the habit of that, 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:63.000 and that's something when it comes to freshmen orientation or other aspects of campus 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:08.000 you use the portal to access that, so it's a very important tool, 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:13.000 that you have as an admitted student and as a student at Western Oregon moving forward. 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:20.000 And then just visiting campus, if you have not visited campus, or need to visit again, or perhaps it's a parents or family member that has not visited campus, 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:28.000 we encourage you to do that. We will be available during the winter break with the exception of the week of Christmas we will be closed, but we'll still offer campus tours. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:35.000 during our break so we encourage you if you have time maybe to come down. Winter preview day will be on February 6th, 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:41.000 so we'd love to have you come down at some point for a campus visitation program, just figure out what works best for you 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:44.000 and we'd love to work with your schedule, so with that, 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:53.000 we're going to open up to see if there's any questions at all, and if not then we can also address those questions 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:56.000 via chat that will still be going through 6 o'clock, 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:60.000 this evening with some of our current students and we also have Alex from Academic Advising 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.000 at 4:30, so just about 3 minutes, he'll be jumping on 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.000 and answering questions and at this point, just wait a moment to see, 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:12.000 So we've got a question here, 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:17.000 just scroll down, and I think the first question is about 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:23.000 students are looking for transportation. Which is a great one, I work with students 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:32.000 joining us from out of state, is one of my recruitment territories, so what we recommend first of all, is for students to fly into the Portland International airport, 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:37.000 I think there's the most options in terms of flights coming into Portland. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:41.000 And there is what's called the Hut Shuttle so the H U T Shuttle, 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:47.000 And students can take the Hut Shuttle, and a couple different options in terms of 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:51.000 destinations where you can dropped off, or picked up maybe when you're heading home for the first time, 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:53.000 There's the Red Lion Inn in Salem, 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:58.000 is a drop off and pick up location for the Hut Shuttle, or, 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:65.000 actually in Corvallis, on The Oregon State University Campus, yes I'll acknowledge the other campus, but that's an option as well 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.000 in the valley and close to the campus, so the key from there, 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:16.000 is you want to make sure that it's maybe a roommate or a friend that can pick you up in Salem or Corvallis and bring you back to the campus 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:22.000 and I found that when I work with students from out of state they make those connections, they arrive on campus in September 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:29.000 and usually come with the family that first time and once they get moved in, and now it's maybe winter break you're heading home for the holidays 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:34.000 is you're going to meet a lot of students living on campus, and often it's going to be a student who has a car 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:40.000 maybe they're from the Salem or Portland area so they could take you into Salem, or I've heard of stories where students will be 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:47.000 asked to say maybe a night or two up in Portland with their roommates or friends they've connected with and they'll drive them directly 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:55.000 to the airport, so that would be my recommendation, I know also the vice president for students affairs office, they offer what's called Wold Ride. 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:60.000 And that is a van that can transport students to the local area, 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.000 during the evening hours, let's say if you want to go to the movie theatre, 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:09.000 or maybe go to bi mart of a restaurant in the evening, that's part of your tuition fees, you have access to that, 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:16.000 where students can put a request in if they do that in advance with the student affairs office and Wolf Ride can take you into Salem, 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:21.000 to the Red Lion Inn, or potentially down to Corvallis, usually there's a fee associated with that, pretty reasonable, 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:28.000 but student affairs has offered that as an option, I know students have taken advantage of that opportunity so great question on transportation. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:34.000 Let's see, what's the history behind WOU's emblem, 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:42.000 and in terms of maybe it's the logo that you see right now with the torch or there's also the wolf face, so a few years ago, 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:54.000 we actually went through a rebranding as well, so the torch is our relatively new, what we refer to as our academic logo, and that's the one that's primarily used but you'll also see, 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:63.000 when it comes to some of the merchandise or athletics there's the wolf face as well for athletics, but I know that that's used for other purposes, very popular 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:12.000 for our students so we went through a redesign a few years ago and I think it's really resonated and I think that torch represents knowledge, 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:19.000 and learning that takes place on this campus, so a great question again, and then next, 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:25.000 Alright so can you elaborate on winter preview day, absolutely, so our preview days, I tell students, 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:28.000 I think they're probably our most comprehensive visit days, 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:34.000 and for students who are admitted or researching Western Oregon, that's the best way to connect with faculty, so that 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:39.000 day you'll have a chance to attend our Academic Department Student Services Fair 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:44.000 and you get to walk around in a designated location in the university center and meet with faculty, 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:48.000 from our different departments divisions, so whether that's teacher education, 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:55.000 our bilingual teacher's program, criminal justice, etcetera will be represented but also departments such as financial aid, 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:63.000 university housing, the honors program will be there, Army ROTC, usually representation from athletics, so it's a good way to connect with folks across campus. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:08.000 And yes there will be campus and residence hall tours, so we usually so a core campus tour, 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:13.000 and then later in the program, you'll do a residence hall tour, so you'll get to see Lander's Hall 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:18.000 Heritage Hall, Ackerman, etcetera and you'll get to see the buildings in person, 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:25.000 and that will be led by one of our current students, an ambassador will facilitate that tour, and really your assigned to an ambassador 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:32.000 throughout the program, so they're kind of your guide for the day, and it's a great way pick a current student's brain about what they're experiences have been like a Western Oregon. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:40.000 The other thing I'll share that I really like about preview day is that students can apply for admission at check in so if they haven't applied for admission yet they can 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:46.000 that morning, they can submit materials, and then any student who has applied for admission or even been admitted 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:51.000 prior to preview day, or if they do it that morning, we'll enter your name 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.000 into a scholarships draw and you must be present at the end of the program, 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:60.000 and we draw anywhere from 3 to 5 students names and it really is just a random draw 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:08.000 the ambassadors usually draw the names, our current students, and we once again award anywhere from 3 to 5 1000 dollar 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.000 preview day awards, but you must be present, so you can't leave early and take off 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:17.000 because that can happen, and it has happened where students left the program and missed out on receiving a scholarship 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:22.000 but it's drawn in their name, so if you attend that winter preview day, and you've applied 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:26.000 then admitted either prior to or on the day of, that'll get you into that scholarship drawing, 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:34.000 We anticipate that winter preview day registration will go live probably right around the holidays or maybe the beginning of the year, so registration is not 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:39.000 quite live for that yet, since we've a few other programs that are live but we should be getting registration up and running 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.000 fairly soon, I would anticipate in the next few weeks here, because I know that we have many students that 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.000 are anxious to come and visit. There's also a women's basketball game that evening so you can request 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:53.000 up to three complimentary tickets for the women's basketball game and I think they're playing Alaska, 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:57.000 Anchorage, I believe that evening, so if you'd like to stick around maybe stay and have dinner in the area, 00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:61.000 investigate the area, relax a bit after preview day and then go to the basketball game. 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:08.000 that evening, so we always try and tie our preview days into different events around campus, so keep that in mind. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:12.000 Thank you so much for your time, if you have any follow up questions be sure to hit us up on the chat 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:16.000 and you can also contact the admissions office after today, 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:20.000 we'd be glad to address any questions you have so thank you and have a great day.