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Southwestern Michigan College hosted 221 high school 11^th graders from Lawton (50), Cassopolis Ross Beatty (62), Decatur (60), Covert (22), Edwardsburg Alternative Education (12) and Niles (15) on May 15.

Participants visited SMC’s Dowagiac campus for nuts-and-bolts advice on the college admissions process.

In his welcome, President Dr. Klint Pleasant said SMC is the sixth college or university in his career, from schools with 1,200 students to 80,000. SMC enrolls more than 2,000.

“SMC makes perfect sense,” Pleasant said. “You meet new people and feel college life and your world getting bigger, but at the same time, we’re small enough in a good way where you can make meaningful connections that will shape your life for years to come.

“We are a residential campus” with 440 beds in three halls. “A lot of schools like ours are not. You have the opportunity to live on campus for the full college life. You can eat here, but you don’t have to” because buying a meal plan is not required.

“Academically, I want to underscore three big buckets that we do well,” Pleasant said. “First, you can transfer to get a bachelor’s degree. Second, if you want a two-year associate degree to move right into the workplace and start making money, you can do that, too. Third, if you want to get that associate degree or a certificate for more vocational training, you can do that. Students are the reason we’re here!”

“You’re getting ready to cross over a pretty serious threshold,” Pleasant said, “finishing high school and perhaps transitioning to college. When I look back, it was one of the biggest decisions of my life.

“It was life-changing because college is where I met my closest friends,” he said. “When I moved on from college and life got hard and threw me some curveballs, I leaned on friends I made in college. I still have a mentor that I talk to on a weekly basis. He’s a faculty member I met in 1994. He’s still shaping my life and is there whenever I need him.”

Participants heard from admissions counselor Ethan Saylor and Director of Dual Enrollment Juliann Jankowski.

In the Student Activity Center theatre, Jankowski presented “College 101.”

When Jankowski graduated from Cassopolis pre-dual enrollment, she took a summer communications course at SMC to acclimate herself to college and boost her confidence before pursuing her Michigan State University bachelor’s degree.

“Preparing for college, job shadowing is a great way to get an inside look at a field of study,” she said. “You want to be proactive because senior year goes fast. There are assessments that can be taken to explore different options to figure out what you might want to do based on your interests.”

Budgeting is key to considering college, Jankowski said.

“Tuition is free through the State of Michigan, and SMC’s Green Light Guarantee for someone who is not in-district. Room and board is separate.”

“You want to look at the living environment,” Jankowski said, deciding whether to live in campus housing or commute to classes.

“My oldest daughter went to Australia for graduate school,” she said.

Jankowski also stressed filling out a FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

“There are a lot of resources out there. Don’t ever be embarrassed to seek them out,” she said.

Saylor said potential students can apply to SMC for free year-round, but it will become more urgent in October of their senior year. There is no GPA requirement, just a high school diploma. Nor are SAT/ACT scores required.

There are 39 clubs to get involved with at SMC. Nine intercollegiate sports include men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s wrestling, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s track and field, bass fishing and e-sports.

“There are more than 250 unique scholarships,” Saylor said. “I’d like to see everyone save as much as you can.”

“With the Community College Guarantee, if you live in Michigan, attend high school here and enroll as a fulltime student, you can get free tuition,” Saylor said. “You can come from out-of-district, like Detroit,” with SMC’s Green Light Guarantee enhancement to cover costs.

In Mathews Conference Center West, Senior Admissions Counselor/Events Coordinator Allyson Harris led an interactive Kahoot session. Phone gamification measured content retention through 18 college-related questions.

Color-coded by towns, each of four groups toured campus, including the housing at Keith H. McKenzie Hall, then enjoyed a cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, cupcakes and lawn games.