Admissions director helps dispel common myths about going to college among teens

LA GRANDE, Oregon – Jaime Contreras is a man on a mission. His objective: serve as a myth-buster, dispelling some of the common misconceptions about going to college among many of today’s youth.

The admissions director at Eastern Oregon University has taken his no-frills approach to demystifying the college application and admissions process to high schools across the country. In his 22-year career as a motivational speaker he has visited 300 schools.

“Too many of today’s high school students with aspirations of going on to college do not have all the facts,” Contreras says. “It is my hope that my presentation will serve as an insight into this important process.”

One of the myths Contreras set out to disprove is the idea that going to college is only for those students who are academically gifted or inordinately intelligent.

Another common misbelief among teenagers, Contreras says, is that the college application process is simply too difficult and confusing. The financial burden coupled with an insufficient understanding of the financial aid available is also a major issue, he says.

“I want to empower the youth so that they will proceed with confidence once they have all the facts,” Contreras says.

On Nov. 21 Contreras visited La Grande High School and debunked 12 of the most common myths about college with the students in Peter Ridder’s Futures class. The Futures class is designed specifically for high school juniors and covers everything from career exploration to basic personal finance.

"I want to empower the youth so that they will proceed with confidence once they have all the facts."
— Jaime Contreras, EOU director of admissions

Ridder is a science teacher who now leads the Futures class, a fairly new addition to the curriculum at LHS. He was impressed and equally exhausted after Contreras completed his whirlwind presentation, visiting with more than 100 students in four different classes by the end of the day.

“Jaime’s presentation is very high-energy,” Ridder says. “He definitely held their attention.”

“As juniors these students are just now starting to get a reality check as to what the college application process involves, so it was a timely presentation. It’s good to start raising their awareness early,” he says.

Dispelling the number one myth that students have to be really smart in order to attend college was the reassurance Ridder felt his class benefited the most from hearing.

Contreras’ presentation at LHS was the first of several he plans to deliver at regional high schools in eastern Oregon, hoping to wipe out more myths along the way.

Contreras was hired as admissions director at EOU last July. Prior to that he served as the associate director for Minority Recruitment Initiatives at Columbia College, Chicago.  Since 1997 he has served as the national chair for the Hispanic/Latino Special Interest Group of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, (NACAC), a professional organization dedicated to serving students as they make choices about pursuing post secondary education.

In October, Contreras presented a workshop on advancing in the field of admissions for the national NACAC conference in Pittsburgh.

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