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  Selecting a college: The decision transfer students must make twice

    By Maggie Rhynes
    IV Leader Staff

    The college selection process can be a daunting one, full of questions and sometimes overwhelming answers. However, for 81 years, Illinois Valley Community College has offered the answers that many Illinois Valley students are looking for. But just what questions are high school students asking?
    Doug Hearn, director of guidance at Ottawa High School, has worked as a counselor for about 14 years and knows what students are looking for when it comes to picking a college.
    "Students are asking themselves 'Will I be admitted?' They look at location, size, programs," Hearn said.
    For students who ultimately choose IVCC, Hearn has noticed a few deciding facts. "The common reasons are that it is close to home and the price: those are two biggest ones."
    La Salle-Peru guidance counselor Alice Joop agreed that for most L-P students who choose to attend IVCC, cost is the deciding factor.
    Hearn also added some students need a place to prove their grades before moving onto a four-year institution.
    The Princeton Review recommends that students consider several factors, not different from the ones IVCC students say they considered, such as location, size, instructor to student ratio and retention or graduation rates.
    Megan Wenzel, a second-year IVCC student, said she knew all along she would be attending IVCC. "My sister went here," Wenzel said. "It's close to home and convenient."
    Other students looked around before eventually deciding on IVCC, like Brittany Muller, a first-year student. "I looked around first but IVCC was the best idea, financially." Muller said.
    Brenda Martinez, a graduate of Ottawa High School, said she considered IVCC, but it wasn't for her. "I wanted to get out of Ottawa. For some reason I just needed to get out. I also wanted to meet other people from other towns, not just the Illinois Valley."
Martinez eventually chose Northern Illinois University, where she is now a sophomore.
    Still other students pointed to different factors that led them to their college of choice. Kate Muhlstadt, a Streator High School graduate and sophomore at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, said she started her college search her junior year. "The most important thing to me was that the college I attended offer my intended major. Then I wanted to go to school somewhere with nice residence halls. I also wanted to feel safe on campus."
    Muhlstadt said her final decision to attend SIUE came mid-way through her senior year. "I'm happy with my decision," she said. "But I wish we had a football team."
    The idea of football being important in her decision didn’t occur to Muhlstadt in high school.
    The majority of IVCC students have a few years to adjust to college and to adjust their college search factors before beginning the process for a second time.
    However, the factors they consider when looking for a college often stay the same.
    Muller said she is looking for the same things she was before. "I want something with nice apartments, a decent housing program. Something not to far away, but far enough. You have to have your independence."
    Wenzel agreed she was looking for the same traits as she was when she first began the process her junior year of high school. "I'm considering the programs and the cost," she said.
    Both Muller and Wenzel have decided to attend Illinois State University, not unlike most IVCC students.
    According to a recent report over three-quarters of IVCC students transfer to either Northern Illinois University of Illinois State University.
    Hearn, like other area guidance counselors, agrees that its hard to put a finger on just what makes an IVCC student since the college seems to draw many types of students. It seems there is no typical IVCC student.
    The diversity of IVCC students is clear when enrollment numbers are broken down. Several factors, such as unemployment, contribute to the increase in nontraditional-aged students. Changes in the area's unemployment level are mirrored in enrollment statistics. Fall 2003 proved to be a record year for enrollment, following the closing of LTV Steel and Harper Wyman which led to an increase in adults returning to school.
    Also contributing to the nontraditional face of IVCC are students enrolled from Sheridan Correctional Center. Sheridan enrollment was up 109 percent in Fall 2005 from Fall ‘04. The correctional center contributed 178 students for this fall.
    While different students pick IVCC for different reasons, the majority seem happy with the decision, including Wenzel who said, "I wish I didn't have to leave."

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