November 8, 1999
Contact: Andrew Careaga
573-341-4328
[email protected]
WEB SITE OFFERS COLLEGE ADVICE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
ROLLA, Mo. -- Whether they're looking for guidance about applying to college, tips on writing a resume or information about college financial assistance, high school students can find help on the Internet at a World Wide Web site called "Elaine Harlan's College Advice."
Harlan, a member of the University of Missouri-Rolla admissions staff who formerly counseled students at the Parkway School District in St. Louis County, Mo., created the online resource to help students and parents find the information they need at a single source. The site is part of the UMR admission and student financial assistance office's online student recruitment effort, and can be found at http://www.umr.edu/~eharlan on the World Wide Web.
The site includes information to help students prepare for campus visits, tips for applying to college, financial assistance information, links to standardized test sites and more.
"More and more high school students are getting on the Web to gather information about college," she says. "Our site is designed to make it easy for them to navigate through the many online resources that are out there."
While much of the information is designed to persuade prospective students to enroll at UMR, the site is beneficial to any high school student considering college, Harlan says.
"I'm available to answer any question you have, whether they pertain to UMR or not," Harlan says in the introduction to her Web site.
In addition, she draws on her personal experience to help provide online advice to high school students. "I have two children that went through the public and private college processes so I can serve as a resource to you and your parents."
The site has drawn more than 1,400 visitors since going online a year ago. Visitors include parents, high school students and high school teachers.
In addition to the Web-based effort, Harlan and other members of the UMR admissions staff keep in touch with prospective students via electronic mail and instant messaging.
Harlan's first contact with high school juniors who have shown interest in UMR is through e-mail. She follows up the initial contact with monthly e-mail tips, similar to what's available on the Web site, and also chats with prospective students via instant messaging programs such as ICQ and America Online's AOL Instant Messenger. These programs enable real-time one-to-one contact between Harlan and a prospective student.
"Instant messaging is a great way to provide immediate responses to students over the Internet," Harlan says.
Responses to the Internet effort have been positive. They include a note from a student who wrote, "I didn't know that I should already be getting a resume together. I also had absolutely no information about the application process (for scholarships)."
Harlan receives e-mail messages from students and parents throughout the United States thanking her for the online service.
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