Ambassador Program Creates New E-newsletter

Welcome to the Ambassador, the quarterly newsletter for Wayne State’s Alumni Admissions Ambassadors Program. As part of the program, the newsletter will contain information on volunteer opportunities, campus updates and new student information. If you have any suggestions on articles you would like to see in the e-newsletter, please contact Joye Clark at joye.clark@wayne.edu.  

 

The Irvin D. Reid Honors College is looking for volunteers to interview potential students for Scholars Day 2010. Scholars Day is a special opportunity for Wayne State University to invite the most promising first-year students to campus for a day of scholarship interviews and tours. Every eligible student who attends Scholars Day becomes a Wayne State Scholar and receives at minimum a scholarship of $1,500 a year for four years.

 

Alumni volunteers participate in small-group interviews that usually consist of two interviewers and six students. Interviews are held on campus, and volunteers interview two groups of students for about 45 minutes each.

 

Dates for 2010 are located below. Additional details on how to register will be released later this fall. For additional questions, please feel free to contact Joye Clark at joye.clark@wayne.edu or 313-577-2161.

 

Saturday, Feb.6

Sunday, Feb. 7

Saturday, Feb. 13

Sunday, Feb. 14

 

Volunteers Need for College Goal Sunday
Wayne State University alumni can help a new generation of college-bound students reach their goal of attending college by volunteering during College Goal Sunday, a national event providing families with college financial aid assistance.

 

Michigan’s College Goal Sunday will be held Feb. 14, 2010, at 29 sites across the state. Volunteers are needed for registration, data entry, and helping families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Volunteers don’t need extensive financial aid knowledge; each site will have financial aid professionals there to answer tough questions.

 

“Many students are intimidated by the financial aid application process. Filling out the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) can be a real struggle for many families,” says Al Hermsen, director of the Office of Student Financial Aid at Wayne State. “Many of them put off completing the FAFSA and as a result don’t get considered for some of the scholarship and grant programs.

"The FAFSA really should be completed in January or February. To address this concern the financial aid community has set aside the second Sunday in February to assist students in completing the FAFSA in a timely way, regardless of what school they plan to attend. 

 

Turnout at Michigan College Goal Sunday sites in 2009 was nearly double the national average, but volunteers were fewer. Some families had to stand in line for more than an hour to get help. To prevent this from happening again, colleges throughout Michigan are asking their alumni to step up and help.

 

Those interested in volunteering for Michigan’s 2010 College Goal Sunday can complete a registration form at www.micollegegoal.org, which features a list of sites and frequently asked questions about the program. Volunteers also can call 517-374-4083.

 

Freshman Invade Campus

Before classes official began on Sept. 3, nearly 2,700 incoming freshmen invaded campus for the annual iStart program. The three-day mandatory program for incoming first-year students is designed to accelerate the students' learning experience at Wayne State. During iStart, students participate in New Student Convocation, which is the official welcome ceremony for incoming students. In addition, students participate in activities that focus on their academic, professional and career experiences at Wayne State.

 

According to a recent Great Lakes IT Report from Sept. 24, Wayne State University has chalked up its largest enrollment increase since fall 2004 and its second largest in a dozen years. Paced by a 5 percent increase in new, first-time and transfer undergraduate students and a 6.6 percent increase in new graduate students for fall 2009, enrollment at WSU is up 2.5 percent from a year ago. Total enrollment is up from 31,025 a year ago to 31,786, an increase of 761 students. First-year retention of undergraduates was up by 7 percent, to 76 percent. For additional information, click here.

 

If you would like to receive an admissions application to share with potential students that waives the $30 application fee, please contact Joye Clark at joye.clark@wayne.edu or at 313-577-2161.