This content was published: November 19, 2014. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Sixty five Hillsboro High School students apply to PCC
Photos and story by Janis Nichols
Oregon College Application Week sounds pretty dull, but if you are one of the 65 students from Hillsboro High School who completed an admissions application to Portland Community College, it means the beginning of a life-changing adventure.
Hillsboro High School had 80 students complete college applications this week and from that pool 65 students applied to PCC.
Some of the students who applied to PCC intend to launch their college career at PCC in an effort to transfer to what they term their dream school. Student Gabe Timm’s self-professed dream school is the California Institute of Technology. He plans to attend PCC to boost his grade-point average and get some prerequisite courses out of the way in an effort to transfer to Caltech to study physics.
Joining Timm in taking advantage of PCC is Lily Corbridge, who plans to enroll in the community college’s Nursing Program.
“It’s a good option to stay closer to home and pay less for school,” Corbridge said. “I don’t really want to jump into a big university and I think PCC will be easier for me to transition to from high school.”
Since 2012, Oregon has partnered with the American Council on Education to participate in the American College Application Campaign. College Application Week opens the door for students and encourages them to commit to college in their senior year. It is particularly important for students who may be first in their families to attend college and students who have not yet seriously considered going to college.
Hillsboro High School had 80 students complete college applications this week and from that pool 65 students applied to PCC. Marla Lyle, career and college counselor, and Catherine Davis, a counseling intern, spearheaded the effort in their high school to give students a jump start with the admissions process.
“Without this opportunity, many of these students would wait until the last minute or possibly not do it at all,” said Lyle.
In addition to completing college applications, students received assistance acc
essing their MyPCC accounts and with scholarships. Many of the high school seniors started the OSAC scholarship application available through Oregon’s Office of Student Access and Completion and were pleasantly surprised to find more than 400 scholarship opportunities available.
Additional information about PCC degree options, getting started and the admissions application can be found on PCC’s website.