Monday, November 23, 2009

Dual Enrollment

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, almost Thanksgiving. I hope all you prospective students have fun plans for the holiday weekend! With that in mind, I hope that you are working on your applications for dual enrollment over the break. This would be a great time to take care of any business.

This is a great opportunity for students to come to the Black Hills State University campus, Rapid City campus, or by using the online format; and meet other students and work with faculty members. By participating in the dual enrollment program, a high school student can make substantial progress toward a college degree before finishing high school, and ease the transition from high school to university life.

Dual Enrollment courses ARE university courses taken at or through BHSU. By taking a dual credit class at BHSU, you may be able to receive credit at both the university and high school level. High School Credit should be approved with your High School Counselor, and could count toward High School graduation. College credit will be granted in all cases as long as you receive a satisfactory passing grade. These credits, including the associated grades, will become part of your permanent High School and University transcripts and records. Thus, you will get a jump-start on your college career.

If you, parents, or guidance counselors have any questions please call me at 605-642-6227 or 605-641-6990. I may also be reached by email at Emily.pier@bhsu.edu . Have a great holiday!

Emily Pier
BHSU Admissions Counselor
Emily.Pier@bhsu.edu

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Spring Registration and HS Visits

Greetings again from the fearless admissions counselor Laura!!! We always have so much going on that I could write a blog post every couple of hours and they actually would all be about different things. We have held two receptions since I last chatted with you all. One in Sioux Falls, SD and one Pierre, SD. Thanks for welcoming us to your area and making them great events. I love receptions because I always learn something new at every single one of them. Today I visited with Evan from Rapid City. He actually won the $500 scholarship last year at the Rapid City Reception. He was still very excited about the money he will be able to use towards his tuition. Congratulations to all of our scholarship winners!

Guess what – new incoming students for the Spring Semester will be able to start registering for classes on Monday!! I am sure all of you are very excited to take the next step in becoming a BHSU student. Registration can be set-up by calling the Registrar’s Office. If you are still thinking you may want to become a student of BHSU this Spring, but not sure where to start call the Admissions Office – 1.800.ALL.BHSU.

I hit the pavement again next week and I am traveling to various locales in western South Dakota and North Dakota before the big holiday hits on Thursday. I can’t wait to create some great stories on the road. Speaking of stories on the road – we were traveling home from the Sioux Falls Reception and one of the current students that had offered to help out was traveling in her own car. Well, just outside of Kimball, SD her fuel pump went out. The staff van that I was traveling in had left after her and so we were able to help her out and make sure she returned to Spearfish safely. Luckily they were able to tow her car into a shop and actually fixed in less than 2 hours, but we were able to spend that time in Kimball!! It was a great visit and I have to give a shout out to Ditty’s Diner – they have free WIFI and great food. What more could we ask for.

Like I said, there is always an adventure on the road to be had. I will be visiting McIntosh, Lemmon, SD and Belfield, South Heart, Dickinson, ND just to name a few. And one other super important stop, my own high school SCRANTON, ND – go Miners!! Check out our On the Road calendar for further details. I am so excited to get out there and chat with the students again. If you haven’t heard that a representative is stopping by your high school and you would like us to, give us a call we would love to come and visit.
Can’t wait to have new story for you all soon!

Laura Weber – Assistant Director of Admissions; Black Hills State University – GO YELLOWJACKETS

Friday, November 13, 2009

Pierre Reception

Happy Friday! I hope that you all have had an outstanding week.

A special "Thank You" goes out to all of you who attended the Sioux Falls Reception & Information Night on Tuesday. We had a great showing, and the staff in attendance loved visiting with all of you about the amazing opportunities that BHSU has to offer. The staff did have quite an interesting ride back to Spearfish, however. One of our student leaders, who was also in attendance at the Sioux Falls reception, had some major car troubles on the way back to Spearfish and to make a long story short, a lot of the staff ended up spending some quality time in good ol' Kimball, SD at Ditty's waiting for the car trouble to get straightened out!! Quite the memory maker there! :)

Another reception is in the works for next week Tuesday, November 17th. We will be traveling to Pierre, SD for the BHSU Pierre Reception & Information Night! Do you live around the Pierre area and are looking to learn more about what BHSU has to offer YOU? If so, register today for this awesome event at www.bhsu.edu/pierre or by calling 1-800-ALL-BHSU. We hope to see you there!

Have an awesome weekend! BHSU Men & Women's basketball teams are both in action this weekend in Montana, and the Women's Volleyball team will be taking on Jamestown tomorrow night for the DAC crown and a berth in the NAIA playoffs! GO YELLOW JACKETS!

Maria Hartung
BHSU Admissions Counselor
Maria.Hartung@bhsu.edu

Monday, November 9, 2009

Sioux Falls Reception & Scholarships

Greetings Black Hills State University Fans!

I am glad to see some of you catching on to all the cool things that Black Hills State University does such as blogging. We also do lots of other cool stuff such as Preview Days and visiting your schools, but one thing that is really great are the receptions! These are when the BHSU Admissions Office and other representatives from campus come to visit you! In fact, there is a reception in Sioux Falls tonight at the Sheraton Hotel starting at 6:30 pm! This would be a great opportunity to check out BHSU and some of the things happening on campus lately. You will hear from the admissions office as well as from current students and current professors. There will also be folks from Residence Life and Financial Aid as well as someone from each College to answer questions that you might have. If you live in Sioux Falls or in the surrounding area, it would really be a great way to spend your evening. Not to mention, there is a $500 scholarship that will be awarded to one student! But you can’t win it if you are not there so go to www.bhsu.edu/siouxfalls to sign up!

This is also a great time for me to tell you a little about some of the scholarship opportunities at BHSU. We have one general scholarship application for all of the scholarships available at www.bhsu.edu/scholarships. You only have to do the one application! It doesn’t get much better than that. Then you are plugged into each different scholarship to determine which ones you will be considered for. However, it is important to note that you must have applied and been accepted to BHSU before you can be eligible for any scholarships. It is just as easy to apply though. Right now is a great time to apply and start working on your scholarship application. Most of the scholarships will be awarded in the spring, so it is important to be eligible NOW. Many different things will be considered when we are reviewing scholarship applications. ACT or SAT scores, GPA and class rank are some of the few, but the answers that you put on your application are also very important, so make sure to fill it out with the kinds of information that we will like to hear about. Remember, if you have any questions you can always contact myself or any of the other Admission Counselors for help. After all, that is what we are here for!

I hope to hear from more of you soon!

Emily Pier
BHSU Admissions Counselor
Emily.Pier@BHSU.edu

Friday, November 6, 2009

Campus Visits

Happy Friday to all! TGIF! I apologize for not blogging for over a week. I just got back last night from an amazing trip, traveling all over Western Nebraska and visiting with all kinds of awesome students at their high schools. Thank you to all the students who stopped by to visit with me. It was so nice meeting you all.

We will be hosting another Preview Day tomorrow, Saturday, November 7th in Meier Hall on the campus of BHSU. All of the staff are excited for tomorrow, and look forward to either seeing all your smiling faces again, or meeting you for the first time! Check in will begin in Meier Hall at 8:30 am. If you still want to sign up for Preview Day, you still have time! You can do so at www.bhsu.edu/visit or give us a call at 1-800-ALL-BHSU. Be prepared for a fun filled morning packed with important information about BHSU! You will even get to eat in our new Student Union dining room, "The Hive" for lunch. Let me tell you- it is A-Maz-ing. :)

The blog has been filled with a lot of talk about Preview Day visits, but we really haven't touched on visiting campus on an individual basis. This can be done! A lot of you have already completed an individual visit this past summer and this fall, and we are waiting for more of you to do the same! What happens during an individual visit you may ask? It can really be tailored to what you want it to be. The typical individual visit includes a tour of campus, a visit with an admissions counselor, a visit with a student financial services representative, possibly a visit with a faculty member in your area of interest, and if you are interested in playing athletics at BHSU, a possible visit with a member of the coaching staff.

We often get questions from students on whether it is better to attend a Preview Day or an individual visit. One is not better than the other! If you can, we even recommend you to attend both, but it is not required. Both experiences give you a look at campus, the faculty and staff, and the Spearfish area. I believe that in order to make a concrete decision on what college is the best fit for you, it is highly essential to visit campus and see for yourself if it is what you are looking for.

Sign up for a Preview Day or an Individual Campus Visit today! To sign up for a Preview Day, please visit www.bhsu.edu/visit. To sign up for an individual visit, please follow this link: http://www.bhsu.edu/Admissions/Visit/tabid/118/Default.aspx

We hope to see you on campus soon! Go Yellow Jackets!

Maria Hartung
BHSU Admissions Counselor