Nearly 400 Employees and Children Attend College Seminar
Duke Admissions shares college prep tips with Duke employees and their children
Tenth grade is going by fast for Daniel Andrussier.
He’s drawn to chemistry and biology courses at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, and starting to plan for college applications.
On Jan. 21, Daniel and his father, Sean, who works at Duke Law School, attended a “College Knowledge” seminar hosted by Duke Undergraduate Admissions. Organizers shared advice with full-time Duke employees and their eighth through 10th graders on how to plan for college.
“I’m sort of figuring out what I’m good at and what I’m interested in doing,” Daniel said.
Nearly 400 people attended the session in the Bryan Center, where the discussion focused on general planning (not admission to Duke) and decisions parents and their children can make during middle and high school.
Duke Admissions has sponsored similar seminars for children of employees who are 11th and 12th graders but wanted to offer a program to parents of younger children. Additional seminars are in the works, and dates will be announced to Duke employees by email.
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag and Senior Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions Nikki Baskin dedicated a portion of the Jan. 21 seminar to sharing important advice by grade level, from choosing appropriate courses and how and when to start visiting colleges, to how to think about extracurricular activities.
“Down the road, a student who’s made a commitment or a series of commitments to things that they care about, things that mean something to them...those are the students who end up exciting people like us when we read their applications,” Guttentag said.
Thirteen-year-old Helen Zhang, who is in eighth grade and contemplating studying graphic design in college, was in the audience. Before the seminar, she sketched shapes in a notebook that included human hands shaded with pencil.
She doesn’t know where she wants to attend college. Her father, Dadong, who helps conduct genetic studies at the Duke Cancer Institute, said he will respect her college decision.
“She’s doing great at school right now,” Dadong said. “We want her to have some knowledge of university applications and university activities. It’s good for her.”
Students and families interested in learning more about the specific admissions process at Duke can visit the Duke Undergraduate Admissions website. Schedules and registration for tours and information sessions, which are geared toward high school juniors and seniors and their parents, can be found here.