Wichita State News: Prospective Students

ACT Prep Workshop to be held at Wichita State

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:39:00 CST

Wichita State University's Counseling and Testing Center is offering a workshop to help high school students prepare for the ACT from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 10, at WSU. The workshop will present general test-taking tips and practice questions for the English, reading, math and science test sections.

The cost for the workshop is $32, and registration can be done online at www.registerblast.com/wsu.

The next national test date for the ACT is Saturday, Sept. 21.
Students need to bring a pencil and a calculator to the workshop. All other materials will be supplied, including practice tests.

For more information, contact Melinda Ware at the Counseling and Testing Center at 316-978-5339 or 316-978-3440 or melinda.ware@wichita.edu.

GRE Test Prep Workshop is scheduled at Wichita State

Wed, 5 Jun 2013 10:18:00 CST

Wichita State University's Counseling and Testing Center and WSU Graduate School are offering a GRE Test Prep Workshop from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, June 15.

The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required at www.registerblast.com/wsu.

The registration deadline is Thursday, June 13.

This workshop will include information that will help potential graduate students prepare for the current exam.

Wichita East IB grads make WSU their top choice

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:47:00 CST

Wichita State University is the No. 1 destination for graduates of Wichita East High School's rigorous International Baccalaureate program.

A special East High IB recognition program was held recently where graduates indicated their planned college destination.

In a class that has yielded students who plan to attend MIT, New York University, Northwestern, Seton Hall, Brigham Young, Notre Dame and more, Wichita State was the top choice for more East High IB graduates than any other college.

Bobby Gandu

"We're thrilled and humbled to know that Wichita State will be the college of choice for more East High IB graduates than any other college," said Bobby Gandu, director of undergraduate admissions at WSU.

Gandu credited a multi-step, collaborative recruitment approach with many campus units, ranging from Honors to academic departments to University Relations as being influential in the success.

Of particular note is that the East High IB students have also been successful in various WSU scholarship competitions.

Kiah Duggins was named a Barton Scholar; Sachin Pendse was named a Wallace Scholar; Katie Deutsch was named a Jabara Scholar; Tom Tran was named a McGregor Scholar; and Rachael Manske and Michelle Robbins were named Dean's Scholars.

Among Kansas colleges and universities, 20 East High IB graduates plan to attend Wichita State, 19 intend to go to the University of Kansas and six to Kansas State University. Four other Kansas colleges will each receive one graduate. The remaining 21 East High IB graduates will pursue college out-of-state.

Construction to start soon on new Wichita State residence hall

Thu, 9 May 2013 07:30:00 CST

Construction of a new five-story residence hall at Wichita State University will start soon after Memorial Day.

The new residence hall will help energize campus and provide exceptional access to academic and recreational opportunities for students who will live near the heart of the campus.

The new residence hall will house about 770 students and be located between Cessna Stadium and Morrison Hall. A new 400-seat dining hall will be attached to the residence hall.

The project will cost about $60 million and be paid for by revenue bonds. Housing revenues will be used over a period of time to repay the bonds.

Ready for fall 2014

Plans are for the residence hall to be completed and ready for students to occupy by the start of the 2014 fall semester.

Mostly first-year students and some returning students will reside in the new residence hall. Several room configurations will be available — singles, standard doubles, double rooms with two singles, and quad rooms with four single rooms. Some will have small living room areas.

Each floor will have a laundry room, community kitchen and lounge area.

After completion of the new residence hall, Wheatshocker Apartments and Brennan Halls will no longer be residence halls. Plans are to raze those buildings for future development. Fairmount Towers will be available for returning students only.

The private/public partner developer selected by the university was EdR of Memphis, Tenn. The lead design architect is Page Southerland Page (PSP) LLP from Denver, Colo. PSP is working with local architects Howard and Helmer and MKEC Engineers.

Dondlinger and Sons Construction and Farha Construction are the construction team under EdR.

To help alleviate the loss of about 750 parking spaces, work also will begin this month on paving the existing Heskett Center intramural field along 21st Street. The new parking lot will accommodate around 400 vehicles.

Work on the new parking lot will begin soon after commencement on May 17 and 18, and will be open in time for the start of fall semester classes on Aug. 19.

Cornejo and Sons LLC will construct the new lot. The parking lot project will cost about $500,000 and be paid by Wichita State's parking system funds.

Plans are to construct a new replacement playfield and renovate the existing field at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex this summer and fall, with the project to be completed during fall 2013.

Science and fun combine at Kansas Science Olympiad

Tue, 2 Apr 2013 14:01:00 CST

More than 1,100 Kansas students will put their creative and scientific skills to the test Saturday, April 6, in the 26th annual Kansas Science Olympiad tournament, hosted by Wichita State University.

The Science Olympiad promotes analytical and creative thinking. It also inspires young people to explore new areas of science and engineering, as well as develop new skills. This is all accomplished in a fun and competitive environment.

Events will take place in various venues throughout the campus, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 6. The locations and times of events that are open to the public can be found at http://webs.wichita.edu/scienceolympiad/. Click on the "Spectator Information" link in the Current News Box.

Fifty-nine teams of middle and high school students will challenge each other in 46 events. The participating teams advanced to the state contest from four regional contests.

The team with the best score in both the middle and high school divisions will qualify for the National Science Olympiad Tournament, to be held on the campus of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, on May 17 and 18. Kansas teams have a tradition of doing well at the national tournament.

The Kansas Science Olympiad is supported by Wichita State University, along with corporate donations from Lubrication Engineers, Spirit AeroSystems Inc., BG Products Inc. and Mid-Continent Instruments.

WSU's Fairmount Center for Science and Mathematics Education coordinates the competition and provides training to coaches each fall.

Junior Day scheduled for students interested in WSU

Tue, 2 Apr 2013 09:50:00 CST

Wichita State University invites students to attend our 2013 Junior Day program.

It's an opportunity for high school juniors to learn about Wichita State and get an inside look at everything the university has to offer.

Junior Day will be from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, May 3, at the CAC Theater on the main WSU campus. The cost to attend is $15, which covers materials, lunch and a Shocker t-shirt.

Online pre-registration is required by Wednesday, May 1, and walk-ins will not be accepted.

RSVP at wichita.edu/EventRSVP or call the Office of Admissions at 316-978-3085 or 800-362-2594.

If you have any questions, contact Elisha Swope at 316- 978-3635, or elisha.swope@wichita.edu.

East High senior wins WSU's $26,000 McGregor scholarship

Mon, 1 Apr 2013 09:30:00 CST

Thong Huy Tran

Thong Huy (Tom) Tran, a senior in the International Baccalaureate program at Wichita High School East, is the winner of Wichita State University's Lenora M. McGregor Endowed Scholarship. It awards $26,000 over four years to one student.

The winner of the McGregor scholarship participates in WSU's Emory Lindquist Honors Program, which supports highly motivated and academically talented undergraduate students through honors-level coursework and faculty mentoring.

To be admitted to the honors program, students must have a minimum 3.7 high school GPA, 27 ACT score or a 3.5 college GPA.

The Lenora N. McGregor Endowed Scholarship was established in 1963 to support an incoming first-year student who has demonstrated academic excellence in the past, has an academic vision for the future, and who expresses an interest in advancing knowledge through individual learning.

Thong Huy Tran

Tran is the son of Hoai Tran and Van Nguyen. While at Wichita State, he plans to major in aerospace engineering, with a minor in physics.

Tran is a member of the National Honor Society, Eco Club and Asian Club at East High. He is also a member of St. Anthony Catholic Church's Lion Dance Team and performs at various restaurants and churches in Wichita for the Vietnamese New Year Festival.

He is particularly proud of his involvement in the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society, a national organization for Catholic youth.

New partnership will help students complete degree

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:52:00 CST

Pratt Community College and Wichita State University have signed an agreement intended to motivate more students to complete an associate's degree, even after transferring to a four-year institution.

This reverse articulation agreement promotes best practices for increasing both associate's and baccalaureate degree completion by permitting eligible students to transfer select course work from Wichita State to Pratt Community College to complete requirements for a Pratt associate's degree.

Eligible Wichita State students will:

have transferred 45 credits from Pratt (or a combination of accumulated hours from other accredited institutions).
completed 15 or more credits at Wichita State University.
met residency requirements for a Pratt degree.
have indicated their willingness to participate in reverse transfer.

The implementation of a reverse transfer agreement will help advance the overall goal of the Kansas Board of Regents to increase postsecondary degree completion rates in our state. Nationally, half of all baccalaureate degree recipients have attended community colleges prior to earning their degrees.

"Anytime you can help a student complete an education, it helps both the student and academic program," said Wichita State president John Bardo.

Pratt Community College president William Wojciechowski said the partnership was a natural move.

"Pratt and Wichita State have a long-term partnership and Pratt has been involved in many of WSU's initiatives," he said. "Lots of our students see opportunities at WSU and enter into its programs."

Partnership with BCC will benefit criminal justice majors

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:10:00 CST

Wichita State University has entered into an articulation agreement with Butler Community College that would allow students getting their Associate Degree in Homeland Security from Butler to then work toward completing a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at WSU.

Butler Community College students are eligible once they complete the Associate Degree in Homeland Security.

"This partnership forged by Wichita State University and Butler Community College is designed to provide students with the academic advantages of both institutions through a consistent pathway for earning degrees in homeland security and criminal justice," said Miles Erpelding, professor of criminal justice, Butler Community College.

With this in place, Butler and Wichita State worked to solidify the partnership so that students can complete their associate degree and transition seamlessly into the bachelor's program without leaving the region.

"This creates much less confusion on the student's end," said Michael Birzer, professor and director of Wichita State's School of Community Affairs. "They know exactly what they have to do to graduate with a minimum amount of time."

To be eligible, students must complete:

30 credit hours of homeland security courses taken at Butler.
18 credit hours of criminal justice courses taken at WSU.
Six credit hours of correlate core courses taken at WSU.

Students must also satisfy the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' and the university's requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree, including foreign language.

Birzer said agreements such as this are a benefit for WSU.

"Community colleges offer us the opportunity to attract some very bright students to WSU," he said.

WSU's criminal justice program offers a variety of optional online courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. Criminal justice graduate students can complete more than half of the program online, and the goal is to have a fully online option within the next two years.

ACT prep workshop to be held at Wichita State

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:48:00 CST

Wichita State University's Counseling and Testing Center is offering a workshop to help high school students prepare for the ACT from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, March 2, at WSU.

The workshop will present general test-taking tips and practice questions for the English, reading, math and science test sections.

The cost for the workshop is $32, and registration can be done online at www.registerblast.com/wsu.

The next national test date for the ACT is Saturday, April 13.
Students need to bring a pencil and a calculator to the workshop. All other materials will be supplied, including practice tests.

For more information, contact Melinda Ware at the Counseling and Testing Center at (316) 978-5339 or melinda.ware@wichita.edu.

WSU Shocker MINDSTORMS Challenge in 13th year

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:09:00 CST

Wichita State University's College of Engineering and College of Education will host the 13th annual Shocker MINDSTORMS Challenge, a robotics competition for fourth- through eighth-grade students, or ages 9-14, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in the Heskett Center gymnasium.

This year's theme is "The WuShock, an Unexpected Journey." Students and coaches will be recognized and celebrated in award ceremonies in 208 Hubbard Hall. Beginners awards will be given from 3-4 p.m. Expert and intermediate teams will have their awards ceremony from 5-6 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

Preparation for and participation in the MINDSTORMS Challenge enhances students' science, technology, engineering and math skills, and promotes teamwork, sportsmanship and communication skills. More than 35 teams are expected to participate in this year's event that is funded and supported by Spirit AeroSystems and Wichita State.

On Challenge day, teams of students will compete to score the highest number of points on robotics courses designed by College of Engineering students, and will also be required to demonstrate what they have learned through presentations, team displays and notebooks. Sportsmanship and spirit will be judged throughout the day to promote collaboration and teamwork.

For more information about Shocker MINDSTORMS Challenge, go to www.wichita.edu/mindstorms.

Wichita State names seventh class of Dean's Scholars

Thu, 7 Feb 2013 10:09:00 CST

After the most competitive process in program history, the seventh class of Dean's Scholars at Wichita State University has been named. Seventy-seven students from across the greater Wichita metropolitan area have been selected.

The names of the newest Dean's Scholars are available at http://www.wichita.edu/j/?2030.

Each year three local high schools are selected from the Wichita area. This year's Dean's Scholars schools were Eisenhower High School (Goddard), Maize South High School and Wichita High School West.

There also are at-large scholarships available to any high school senior from the Wichita metropolitan area. All applicants are required to have a minimum 3.25 grade point average and a minimum ACT composite score of 26, or a minimum ACT composite score of 24 and rank in the top 5 percent of their class.

Those selected will receive institutional scholarships ranging from $4,000 up to full tuition, books, and room and board for the 2013-2014 academic year. Additional scholarship opportunities will be available for subsequent semesters.

Bringing value to WSU

The Dean's Scholars Program was created in 2007 by Christine Schneikart-Luebbe, associate vice president for student engagement and dean of enrollment management, and is coordinated by Trish Inslee, assistant to the dean, enrollment management. The program is aimed at attracting some of Wichita's best and brightest to Wichita State through a variety of social and academic programs.

"All of these students are very talented and will bring value to the Dean's Scholars program and WSU," said Inslee. "I hope they decide Wichita State is where they want to pursue their education."

During the past few months, these students were given a firsthand look into all that Wichita State has to offer. The average ACT of the students selected is 28, and the average grade point average is 3.91.

"These students are some of the area's most impressive high school students, and I look forward to all they will bring as Shockers," said Inslee.

For more information on the Dean's Scholars Program, visit www.wichita.edu/deansscholars.

Campus hosts Open House for prospective students

Wed, 6 Feb 2013 14:12:00 CST

Wichita State University is holding its 2013 Open House from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, March 15, in the CAC Theater.

The event is open to any student who is interested in attending Wichita State. This will be an opportunity for students to get an inside look at everything WSU has to offer.

The cost is $10, which covers materials, a discounted lunch coupon and a Shocker T-shirt. Space is limited, so RSVP at www.wichita.edu/EventRSVP.

Students will design their experience by selecting from a variety of information sessions ranging from student life to scholarships.

A $1,000 scholarship will be held for program attendees entering Wichita State as full-time degree-bound students for the 2013-2014 academic year.

For more information, contact Elisha Swope at (316) 978-3635 or elisha.swope@wichita.edu.

GRE Test Prep Workshop is scheduled at Wichita State

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:23:00 CST

Wichita State University's Counseling and Testing Center and WSU Graduate School are offering a GRE Test Prep Workshop from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Feb. 23.

The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required at www.registerblast.com/wsu. The registration deadline is Thursday, Feb. 21.

This workshop will include information that will help potential graduate students prepare for the current exam.

WSU awards $8,000 scholarship to Salina High School South senior

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 11:26:00 CST

Wichita State University has selected Salina High School South senior Margarette Long as the 2012-2013 winner of the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail Scholarship. Circle High School senior Emily Hoover is the runner-up.

Long will receive $8,000, or $2,000 a year, over four years to attend WSU.

Hoover will receive $4,000, or $1,000 a year, over four years to attend WSU.

Long and Hoover were selected from a pool of about 100 applicants competing for the AVCT Scholarship.

To be eligible for the scholarship, students were required to have a 24 or higher ACT score, a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA, apply for WSU general scholarships and be a student at an AVCT League high school.

Ark Valley Chisholm Trail Scholarships have been awarded annually to incoming Wichita State freshmen since 2005.