By Stacey Wiebe
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Merced Sun-Star

High-schoolers countywide are shaking off doubts about attending college by facing their fears head-on - and learning as much as they can about that mysterious beast called “higher education.”

The aim of a program established at several schools throughout the state is to take the fear out of college by showing those without exposure to its logistics just how easy it can be.

The Merced County branch, officially dubbed the Merced County California Student Opportunity and Access Program Collegiate Academy, or Cal-Soap, will be honoring its first group of graduating seniors from Merced County who have participated in the program for four years.

“I think it’s a very worthwhile program with our students coming from varied backgrounds,” said Bob Abraham, assistant principal at Livingston High School. “They’re getting a lot of pointers on how to adapt to college life and how to be successful in college.”

Abraham calls the program a means of “academic preparation” for students, including the 34 Livingston High School students being honored.

Participating high schools throughout the county include Atwater, Chowchilla, Delhi, Dos Palos, Golden Valley, Le Grand, Livingston, Los Banos and Merced.

“Each of the participating high schools selects a group of 30 incoming freshmen to be part of the Collegiate Academy,” said Greg Soto, Cal-Soap director.

Soto added that the academy points students in the right direction by giving them academic advising, “exposure to college life through summer enrichment programs,” and other specialized services geared at college preparation.

According to Abraham, enrollment in the program hinges on factors such as grade-point average and the desire to pursue a college career - whether at a junior college or four-year school.

“The reaction has been very positive,” Abraham said. “Some of our students don’t have exposure to outside influences ... . it’s an eye-opening chance to see what college life is really like.”

The Collegiate Academy offers two summer enrichment programs for its students in the summers following their freshman and sophomore years.

During those outings, they travel to campuses, such as CSU Stanislaus and UC Davis, among others.

“Any type of outreach program is a great opportunity for kids to live first-hand what college life is going to be like,” said Ralph Calderon, assistant principal at Atwater High School. “It either changes their minds or assuages their fears that college is not something unattainable.”

There are 19 students from Atwater High School set to graduate from the program, including 17-year-old Raquel Santiago.

“It’s shown me different information about different colleges,” she said of the academy. “They come and help us out, see how we’re doing in school, and give us suggestions.”

The first batch of 181 Cal-Soap graduating seniors will be honored at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Merced College Amphitheater.