Event helps Sandy victims apply for college

High school seniors, particularly those affected by superstorm Sandy, are invited to attend a free college application event Saturday at Adelphi University.

About 50 college admissions professionals, members of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, will host "Operation Apps: Taking College by Storm" in the University Center on the Garden City campus.

The group hopes to help students get back on the college-application track if they lost their homes and belongings and had been without power or Internet access, said Don Fraser Jr., the association's director of education and training.

"We don't want the process itself to be an obstacle for students," Fraser said. "If we can get these students to submit applications, then we've helped them in some way."

The event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is one of five sessions the group is holding in New York and New Jersey. Registration is encouraged at tinyurl.com/ collegebystorm, but walk-ins are welcome, Fraser said.

Computers will be available for students to submit online applications. Counselors also can review application essays and give financial aid advice.

Though the event is geared to Sandy storm victims, other students seeking college advice can attend, Fraser said.

Kristen Collins, Adelphi's director of undergraduate admissions and an event organizer, said students in the hardest-hit areas may need help getting financial aid information, particularly because the storm could have affected their finances or those of their family.

"The last thing that any college admission rep wants is for a student to think that college now is out of reach," Collins said. "Because it isn't."