Marion County high school students interested in college hold ‘application party'
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Marion County high school seniors interested in college gathered Wednesday for an 'application party,' where they could learn about the process of applying to universities they're interested in.
All Marion County students were invited to come to the Fairmont Senior Fieldhouse and learn about the college application process or even fill one out. Representatives from six local schools: WVU, Fairmont State, West Virginia Wesleyan, Pierpont, Concord and Marshall were there to answer questions.
The event was put on by Fairmont Senior students, who thought they saw a gap in the knowledge and confidence of Marion County students within the college application process.
David Heston is a senior at Fairmont Senior and is the Chair of the Marion County College Success Initiative, which put on the event.
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'Last year, I recognized a gap in the Class of 2024's confidence in applying to college, and I decided that we needed to change it and we need to do something so I took that idea back to our student council and we began a plan,' Heston said.
The plan included putting out a survey for the high schools throughout Marion County, which found that 50% of students were 'very uncomfortable' with the college application process. To address this, Heston and other students put on Wednesday's event, and they plan to hold assemblies at the high schools in Marion County to give further information about the college application process.
One of the attendees was a senior at Fairmont Senior Ava McMullen, who was looking to learn about housing. 'Some things aren't clear on college websites and stuff so being able to talk with admissions counselors and things like that is really helpful in person,' McMullen said.
Marion County Superintendent Dr. Donna Heston was also in attendance. 'I was appreciative that they were taking that initiative,' Dr. Heston said. 'We're always looking for ways to do better in Marion County Schools and so they came up with this concept.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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