High School Boosts College Recruitment

Sylmar High School, which sends fewer students to four-year colleges than almost any other Los Angeles high school, is expecting dramatic increases in the number of college-bound graduates this year.

Last year, the school started an aggressive college recruitment program. And the efforts began to pay off this fall, when 36 Sylmar students went on to Cal State Northridge, up from just 12 last year, said Ludim Seja, director of university outreach at CSUN. The number of Sylmar students taking the pre-college entrance exam, the PSAT, has increased by 64%, said high school officials.

While a final accounting of college-bound graduates in the Los Angeles Unified School District won’t be made until May, Sylmar college counselor Joy Gray said she thinks that Sylmar’s new efforts to reach out to students early have made a difference.

“We are just trying to raise awareness. We just want them to know that the doors are open,” Gray said. She said the school now makes sure every senior hears lectures on how to get to college.

Universities are stepping up their recruitment efforts too: Both CSUN and UCLA have recently launched aggressive recruiting programs on the campus.

Sylmar’s rates of college-bound graduates have ranged from as low as 25% in the late 1980s to about 46% in recent years, according to school district officials. The number who go on to four-year colleges is the lowest in the district. In 1991, the last year that figures were available, only about 8% of students went on to either Cal State or UC schools, said Roger Rasmussen, director of the district’s independent analysis unit.

One of those who might not have made it to college without the school’s aggressive intervention is 18-year-old Precia Bowman.

Bowman said family and financial problems had almost persuaded her to give up on the idea of going to a four-year college. Since her grades had suffered as a result of working three jobs and moving five times in her senior year, Bowman said she didn’t think she could get any money for college.

But counselor Gray changed her mind. “She kept nagging me and nagging me to fill out applications,” said Bowman. Through Gray, the student learned how to apply for financial aid and now attends CSUN. She hopes eventually to get a master’s degree in a music-related field.