This past weekend 165 prospective students visited campus to attend John Brown University’s annual Scholarship Weekend. The largest number ever hosted by the University, the two-day event gave a select group of potential students the opportunity to compete for three types of prestigious scholarships.
High school students from a variety of states, as well as two students from Kenya and two from Poland participated in interviews on Monday.
Students selected to participate were already admitted to the University. Each had at least a 3.7 GPA and an ACT score of 29 or higher, or SAT equivalent. According to Don Crandall, vice president of admissions, 120 of the students this year received an ACT composite score of 30 or higher.
Admissions Counselor Erin Harrell said most students took part in two interviews: a group interview with a panel of faculty members and an individual interview with an admissions counselor. During the individual interview, students expressed more of their personal story and their desire to come to the University.
“I love scholarship weekend because I am able to hear the stories of my students. They open up and talk about their relationship with God, hard things that they have gone through and about their dreams for the future,” said Harrell.
Trisha Posey, director of the Honors Scholars Program, agreed.
“I always love hearing the experiences that have sparked the intellectual curiosity of our prospective students,” she said.
Harrell explained the different scholarships available. The University awarded four Presidential Scholarships, worth $22,000 a year and 50 Chancellor Scholarships, worth $11,000 a year. The engineering department also offered several $10,000 scholarships.
Forty-eight of the students competing for scholarships were interested in engineering, construction management or renewable energy said Larry Bland, the divisional chair. The the department offered building tours and classroom visits throughout the day as well—in order to have as much contact with students as possible.
This event was also an opportunity for the Honors Program to connect with interested students. They sponsored both an informal coffee house on Sunday night and an information session on Monday morning.
Posey was excited for current honors students to discuss their own experiences with the prospective students.
“These are some of our brightest students, and we’d be happy if any enrolled at JBU,” Crandall said.