Virginia Governor Mark Warner has issued a proclamation recognizing July
29 through August 3 as “Private College Week” in Virginia, and Bluefield
College in Bluefield, Virginia, will be one of 24 select private colleges in
the Commonwealth inviting high school students to campus as part of the
annual event.
For the sixth consecutive year, Bluefield College will join 23 other
private colleges in Virginia as participants in Private College Week. The
week is sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV),
an association of 24 independent colleges and universities working together
to promote awareness of Virginia independent colleges to potential students.
The event is a statewide series of campus tours, open houses, and workshops
and information sessions on admissions and financial aid for prospective
college students and their families.
“During Private College Week, all CICV member colleges conduct
admissions and financial aid workshops and campus tours for interested
students and their families,” said Liv Heggoy, director of public affairs
for the CICV. “Private College Week has been a very popular event for the
CICV. In 1996, 712 students visited our 24 colleges during the first week in
August. Last year, 1,800 families participated in Virginia Private College
Week.”
The tours during Private College Week are more comprehensive than those
offered at other times, according to Heggoy. Often described as “one-stop
shopping,” she said, Private College Week is timed “so students are not
pressured during the school year to squeeze campus visits between exams,
homecoming and soccer practice.”
Students will not only benefit by being able to visit some of the
private colleges and universities in Virginia, but they can also receive
three application fee waivers for three Virginia private colleges, if they
visit four or more CICV campuses during Virginia Private College Week. All
participating students will receive a “passport” which will be stamped at
each of the colleges they visit during this week. After visiting four or
more CICV colleges, prospective students can redeem their “passport” for
three special fee waivers, exempting them from the usual application fees
charged by the colleges.
“We hope that many students and their families will participate and
learn about the unique opportunities available at our well-known and
well-respected colleges,” said Robert Lambeth, president of the CICV. “Our
colleges offer an academic community where teaching comes first and students
receive personal attention.”
Colleges participating in the event include: Averett College (Danville);
Bluefield College (Bluefield); Bridgewater College (Bridgewater); the
College of Health Sciences (Roanoke); Eastern Mennonite University
(Harrisonburg); Emory and Henry College (Emory); Ferrum College (Ferrum);
Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden-Sydney); Hampton University (Hampton);
Hollins University (Roanoke); Lynchburg College (Lynchburg); Mary Baldwin
College (Staunton); Marymount University (Arlington); Randolph-Macon College
(Ashland); Randolph-Macon Women’s College (Lynchburg); Roanoke College
(Salem); St. Paul’s College (Lawrenceville); Shenandoah University
(Winchester); Sweet Briar College (Sweet Briar); University of Richmond
(Richmond); Virginia Intermont College (Bristol); Virginia Union University
(Richmond); Virginia Wesleyan College (Norfolk/Virginia Beach); and
Washington & Lee University (Lexington).
Prospective students may choose to attend any one of the several
sessions during Private College Week. The sessions on the Bluefield College
campus will take place at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, July 29
through August 2, and at 9 a.m on Saturday, August 3.
For more information about how to visit the Bluefield campus during
Virginia Private College Week, call the BC Admissions Office at 276-326-4214
or 800-872-0175, the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia at
540-586-0606, or visit the CICV web site at www.cicv.org.
