The UAF Office of Admissions will be hosting a reception for top Anchorage high school students who qualify for the University of Alaska Scholar Program at the Anchorage Sheraton Hotel April 11 from 7-8:30 p.m. More than 320 students and their parents from Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna area who qualify for the program have been invited to the event.

Initiated last year by UA President Mark Hamilton to increase enrollment of academic stars at in-state public universities, the program offers graduating Alaskan high school students in the top 10 percent of their class a four-year scholarship to any campus within the UA system. The program is designed to help reduce the close to 60 percent of high school graduates who attend college out of state.

Last year more than 100 students attended UAF under the program, but this year the number of scholars enrolled at the Fairbanks campus is expected to top 150 students. Several current UAF student scholars from the Anchorage area will be on hand during the reception to talk with incoming students about campus life and academic opportunities.

Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Anchorage high school counselors and career advisers will meet with UAF admissions staff to discuss transfer and admissions procedures.

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