Series brings colleges to SRHS

Ginger Colletto (center, in burgundy) spearheads the Wednesday College Series at Scripps Ranch High School in which college counselors visit to explain their programs to students. (courtesy photo)

Series brings colleges to SRHS

For longer than most people on campus would know, Scripps Ranch High School was not open to college admissions counselors.

That changed when the school’s principal, Nicole DeWitt, arrived and decided to seek some help in that area in the summer of 2018, soliciting the assistance of Ginger Colletto, a parent of two Scripps Ranch High students.

“The goal was to bring in colleges on the campus because they hadn’t had any colleges visiting with the students at Scripps Ranch High for a really long time,” Colletto said. “I have no idea as to the last time that they allowed any college admissions counselors on campus.”

With Colletto’s help, the Wednesday College and Career Series was born.

Colletto spent the summer working alongside a woman named Maureen Roadman, from the post-high school guidance group Explore Solutions, to put together a weekly program that would assist students in their college and career searches during the school’s lunch period.

Now, the program has become a well-known program on campus, bringing in 87 colleges to the school’s library so far this semester. Although some meetings only feature one representative, others have reached up to 40, Colletto said.

“The goal really is just to expand the kids’ horizons, you know, for them to realize that there’s a lot of different options out there and that there’s a lot of schools out there that really are interested in getting the kids from Scripps Ranch High because they are just truly a remarkable group of students,” Colletto said.

She said past meetings have featured schools such as the University of Washington, George Mason University, Miami University and UCLA as well as local options like UC San Diego and San Diego State University. Colletto also brings in career representatives including some from the City of San Diego, and engineers from the phone case company Otterbox.

One of Colletto’s main goals for the program is to bring in a diverse selection of schools, no matter the size of their campus. She said she hopes students will take advantage of the opportunity to ask representatives specific questions about each campus.

One of the biggest things students should consider asking college counselors is the cost of attending their school, Colletto said.

“I think in the past we’ve only looked at our own state schools and now we’re finding that a lot of the schools out of state are giving a tremendous amount and merit scholarships, making it affordable for kids to go out of state and be able to get out in four years,” she said.

Although only students are allowed to attend the Wednesday series, Colletto said parents are encouraged to visit the College Corner with their kids, a webpage she compiles with information about post-secondary education options. Visit bit.ly/2LoF7NG.