Scholars
program continues to grow
By Tina Page
On-line Forty-Niner
More
than 400 high school seniors from all over
California applied to the Cal State Long
Beach President’s Scholars Program this
semester. Only about 120 could be accepted.
The
program is a scholarship initiated and master
minded by CSULB President Robert Maxson.
The program is meant to attract distinguished
scholars from the state of California.
“The
initial goal of the program was to attract
top students from around the state. Our
ultimate goal is to treat all of our students
like this,” said Armando Contreras, executive
assistant to the president.
Each
student in the program is granted a four-year
scholarship valued at between $25,000 and
$35,000. These scholarships may include
full payment of tuition and general student
fees, paid housing in campus residence halls,
priority registration, parking privileges,
book allowances, a meal plan, personal academic
advising, e-mail and Internet access, and
exclusive use of the Thomas E. Miller Scholars
Center, a research and study area.
These
scholarships are made possible through donations
from the CSULB Alumni Association, the President’s
Associates and the Corporate Scholars Council.
Donations
have allowed more than 500 highly qualified
students to choose CSULB and to successfully
move on to the careers or graduate schools
of their choice.
Contreras
said he believes that bringing in high level,
serious students is one of the keys to a
school’s success and reputation.
“Attracting
distinguished scholars does not only benefit
the students in the program. I think that
it enhances our academic reputation and
improves our image and quality of learning,”
Contreras said.
Attracting
these top quality students is no longer
a problem. The program has grown from 11
mostly local students its first year to
around 350 this year, the most the school
feels it can handle while giving the scholars
the treatment they have been promised.
The
issue now is in selecting students from
the hundreds of qualified applicants. Students
are contacted in their senior year of high
school by CSULB if they are valedictorians,
or if they are National Merit Finalists
or Semi-Finalists. These students send in
an application and an essay separate from
the standard CSULB application. A committee
then gives an intensive review of all applications
and chooses the most highly qualified students.
Although
the President’s Scholars Program draws many
of these top students, it is more than just
the program itself that influences their
decision to attend CSULB.
“Through
the recruitment process the students meet
with the faculty and with President Maxson,”
Valerie Bordeaux, the director of University
Outreach and School Relations said in praise
of the program. “Seeing the dedication and
warmness of the faculty and staff plays
a major role in their choice. The program
is testimony to the outstanding faculty
and the vision and leadership of President
Maxson.”
CSULB
has the premiere President’s Scholars Program
in the state of California and is recognized
as a model in California legislation. This
program has helped to raise the status and
reputation of CSULB for all students.
“Along
with the group of President’s Scholars,
CSULB is host to a talented and diverse
body of students who bring in their own
contribution and we value them all,” Bordeaux
said.
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