Greetings from sunny North Carolina! It’s the first day of spring, March 20, and we’re looking to enjoy a high of 81 and sunny today. Aren’t you jealous. Well soon enough, you’ll be here on this lovely campus with me. A friend of mine from here in admissions, Lars Farabee, has written up some of the things you should know and look forward to about the High Point area. (Please note: I use the term “friend” rather loosely because he looks like a maniac in the below photo and he may or may not be…) I thought this was too good not to share! Enjoy!

I hope that all is well with you and that you are gearing up for your last few months of high school.  I know that they are going to fly by, so make sure to enjoy yourself as much as possible.  You have worked very hard for all of your achievements, and you should feel very proud of all that you have done!

We’re excited for you to become part of our community here at High Point University.   Being a part of this community not only means that you are going to be on one of the most exciting and extraordinary campuses in the country, but that you’ll also be living in North Carolina (which, as someone from the north, I can tell you is fantastic!)

In this email, I’d like to share some things to do in the town of High Point as well as the surrounding area so you’ll be a little more accustomed to your new home when you get here.  First off, we’re about 3 hours from the beautiful beaches of the Carolinas.  My personal favorite is Wrightsville Beach, which still has the local charm that other tourist destinations have lost.  We’re also less than 3 hours from the mountains, so if you like to ski, have no fear, you’ll still be able to head out to Asheville and Boone for some terrific spring skiing.  We’re also less than an hour away from Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock, which provide wonderful hiking opportunities.

As far as what to eat while you’re down here, we obviously have a fantastic dining plan here on campus.  However, there are other options for students off campus as well, and you should absolutely visit them during your time as an HPU student. There’s The Doghouse on Main Street, which serves up fantastic hotdogs and grilled cheese sandwiches.  It’s a true North Carolina experience that many of our students enjoy on the weekends.  Lexington, NC is only 25 minutes away, and it is by far the BBQ capital of the Southeast.  Jimmy’s Pizza is located downtown, and is a popular hangout for many of our clubs and organizations.  Feeney’s dishes out terrific frozen yogurt that you create yourself.  And you absolutely have to get a Chicken Biscuit with honey from The Biscuit Factory.  It is out of this world!

High Point, North Carolina does not have your typical downtown.  However, there are many things that you have to experience during your time here as a member of our community.  High Point is the hometown of John Coltrane, one of the most influential figures in jazz music.  A statue honoring him is located at the intersection of Hamilton Street and Commerce Avenue.  There is also an exhibit showcasing his life at the High Point Museum, which is another great venue to check out while you’re here as a student.  The High Point Museum is home to one of the stops of the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, as well as many other local productions.  Also, don’t forget to take a picture of you and your friends in front of one of the nation’s largest chest of drawers, located here in the furniture capital of the world.  If you’re looking for cultural experiences, there are plenty to find here in High Point!

This area is terrific if you are a sports fan.  First off, High Point University is home to the Panthers.  Our fans are very spirited, so one of the things that you have to do before you leave High Point University is to paint yourself purple and cheer for HPU in the Panthers Den!

It’s also great to support other local teams as well.  Whether you like, love or despise the teams involved – or perhaps don’t even know what basketball even is – one thing that you absolutely have to do is go to one of the local sports restaurants in town for a Duke-UNC basketball game.  You should catch a fly ball at a Winston-Salem Dash or Greensboro Grasshoppers minor league baseball game.  You should also visit the Miracle Fields at the High Point Athletic Complex on a Saturday morning to cheer on or volunteer with the Special Olympics participants.

High Point is also a member of the Piedmont Triad community, which means we’re only about 25 minutes away from both Greensboro and Winston-Salem.  These two larger cities provide a multitude of things to do for college students, including downtown hotspots, concert venues, and art museums.  There are also nine other colleges and universities in this area, meaning there are plenty of other college students to interact with on top of the amazing group of students that will make up your family here at High Point University.

- Lars Farabee

What to do with AP and college courses and how to stay motivated throughout your last semester.

We’re past the point that senioritis hits. For me it hit mid-way through my sophomore year. (That was high school. At High Point I was fully engaged every day. Duh.) It’s super important for incoming freshmen to remember to keep up the good work once admitted, even in the midst of senioritis. The temptation can be to manage all the work of college applications and then feel exhausted by the time spring semester rolls around. Instead, make sure you keep the chin up and eyes ahead as you prepare for the transition to college.

So, here are some things to keep in mind as you wrap up the last few months of senior year:

• Your acceptance to High Point University rests on the faith that you will graduate in the same good standing you had when you applied. You’ll send High Point your final transcripts after graduation, at which point the admissions office will re-weigh your GPA and input your final courses. Be sure you’re working now to impress later!
• High Point factors in your grades from core classes to compute your standing in the freshman class. This means they’re looking at grades from 4 English courses, 3 math courses, 3 science courses, 3 history/social science courses and 2 foreign language courses. If you are taking more than the minimum and, say, are in your 4th year of math, High Point will compute your top 3 math grades since 3 is the requirement. How’s that for senior year incentive?
• If you’re taking AP or IB courses, be sure to have those scores sent through College Board to the admissions office. The admissions office will enter them and then send everything over to the University Registrar so those courses make their way towards transferring in for you. HPU currently takes all AP scores that are a 4 or 5. There’s a chance that some students will register for fall classes through Early Registration before knowing exactly how AP courses will transfer in. In the event that you sign up for something you don’t actually need, you’ll meet with your advisor the Monday before classes start to adjust your schedule to suit your needs.
• College transfer classes work just like AP credit. If you’re a transfer student, or if you’re just bringing in college credit as a high school student, submit those transcripts to the admissions office and they’ll get to the University Registrar from there.
• It’s very likely that you’ll be taking classes in your major as soon as you start at HPU in the fall and you’ll be signed up for a First Year Seminar Course (could be anything of your choosing from Baseball History to Cracking Secret Codes) and the President’s Seminar on Life Skills (which is AWESOME.) In order to stay mentally prepared for launching right into your field here, make sure you stay strong throughout senior year! High Point is a challenging school. Students get engaged easily and early on, but it helps if you’ve kept momentum up throughout high school for your arrival to this wonderful place that is High Point University.

Candace

Athletics at High Point University

Are you ready to be a High Point University Panther?!

High Point offers students the best of both worlds – a small, community-oriented environment with stellar big-school athletics that are DIVISION I!

If this picture doesn’t sum up the school spirit at HPU, I don’t know what does. So take a hint, incoming freshmen. This will be you in 199 days!

Here are the Division I teams you’ll be cheering for:

• Men’s Baseball
• Men’s and Women’s Basketball (and, can I just take a moment to say that the women’s team is making history right now as the UNDEFEATED team in the Big South Conference?!)
• Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
• Men’s and Women’s Golf (you won’t really be cheering for this, just quietly clapping really)
• Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Outdoor Track
• Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse
• Men’s and Women’s Soccer
• Women’s Volleyball

Also, Dr. Qubein has been reserving the HPU shuttles and telling students to pack in for rides to away games, so we get great school spirit on the way there and back. Not to mention, the opposing teams are a little shocked to see so many of us on their home court. (…dressed up like panthers…what?)

In addition to cheering on our D-I teams, you’ll also have the opportunity to play club or intramural sports. Club teams are intercollegiate and are a great outlet for students who want to play sports at a higher level of competition than intramurals but don’t want to compete at the NCAA Division I level. Our club teams play against other club teams from schools in the area, such as Wake Forest University, Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, Elon University and Davidson College.

Club Sports include:

• Men’s and Women’s Basketball
• Men’s and Women’s Golf
• Mens’ and Women’s Lacrosse
• Men’s and Women’s Soccer
• Men’s and Women’s Swimming
• Men’s and Women’s Tennis
• Cricket
• Equestrian
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Women’s Field Hockey
• Men’s Volleyball
• Men’s Tennis

For those of you who want to play a sport when you come – maybe just to stay fit, or try something new, but not really to let your competitive streak loose, intramural sports are great. Our intramural sports are supported by the National Intramural Recreation Sports Association (NIRSA) and the North Carolina Recreation Sports Association (NCRSA) and provide students with the opportunity to enjoy sports in a less competitive way.

Some of the intramural sports at HPU are:

• 3-on-3 Basketball
• 5-on-5 Basketball
• Aqua Basketball (how convenient that we have all of these pools on campus)
• Aqua Volleyball
• Dodgeball
• Fitness Challenge
• Flag Football
• 4-on-4 Football
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Frisbee Golf
• Racquetball
• Softball
• Indoor Soccer
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Indoor Volleyball
• Sand Volleyball
• Inner Tube Water Polo
• Whiffleball

There you have it friends! I can’t wait to have you with me cheering away at the games and taking advantage of all the free stuff HPU hands out and the amazing half time shows!

Candace