UO welcomes high achieving students for Scholars Recognition Day

Scholars Recognition DayEUGENE, Ore. – (Jan. 6, 2014) – Many of the top young minds from across the state and around the country will be on campus as the University of Oregon hosts Scholars Recognition Day on Friday, Jan. 10. The invitation-only event is for high achieving students and is designed to introduce them to the outstanding programs offered at the UO.

Providing prospective students and their families with the information they need when selecting a college, the day’s programs include an information fair, academic breakout sessions, lunch with faculty members, campus and housing tours, and interest sessions for the Robert D. Clark Honors College, College Scholars Program and the Global Scholars Language Immersion Programs.

“Now more than ever, students and their families are more granular in their college search process,” said David Van Der Haeghen, assistant director of admissions for top scholar recruitment. “Some families want to know absolutely everything they can about the university; they come prepared with spreadsheets and investigate and rank everything about a school. Others may visit and just decide they like the atmosphere on campus. The process is as much an art as a science.”

With more than 300 people registered to attend from throughout Oregon and as far away as Florida and New York, the University of Oregon recruits some of the brightest students from around the nation. And those high-achieving students choose the UO, a premier public research university, for its commitment to academic excellence and the student experience.

The Scholars Recognition Day event has changed and grown since its beginnings in the early 2000s. Last year approximately 135 students attended the event, which resulted in 130 students applying and being accepted to the university. From that group, 70 students enrolled and are attending the university, giving the event an exceptional yield rate of more than 50 percent.

“We encourage out-of-state students to visit the university and learn what the University of Oregon does in its own unique way,” said Van Der Haeghen. “But, we also want them to spend time in the community – take a run along the river, hike one of the buttes, ride the bus, visit downtown, go to a concert – and learn how they will also be involved in the community beyond the university.

“We also encourage our local students to visit the university to help dispel some of their preconceived notions about what they think they know about the UO, and make sure they truly understand the university.”

For the first time in University of Oregon history, the incoming freshmen class last fall had an average high school GPA of 3.6 and their average SAT and ACT scores set a new UO record.

“We want our students to have the expectation of achievement because that will help increase the overall academic profile of the entire university,” said Van Der Haeghen.

The UO rewards high-achieving students for excelling academically by providing scholarships and granting college credit for high scores on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. The Presidential, Stamps, Summit and Apex Scholarships are examples of generous merit-based awards for freshmen.

The UO awarded $3.9 million in aid from the four most-used scholarship programs to Oregonians in this year's freshman class—a 60 percent increase over last year.

“Students and families today are looking at the value of their degree over their lifetime and what their degree will be able to do for them on a national and international level throughout their careers,” said Van Der Haeghen. “Parents are worried about the return on their investment. They look at the dollars and cents and want to ensure that their child will succeed both in and out of the classroom.”

For more information, visit http://admissions.uoregon.edu/.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO is also one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa Foley, UO media relations, 541-346-5361, mfoley@uoregon.edu

Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. In addition, there is video access to satellite uplink, and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.