The University of Georgia Tifton campus and the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) invites high school and college students interested in attending or transferring into CAES to attend the college’s Southwest ShowCAES on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the Tifton Campus Conference Center.

Southwest ShowCAES, which begins at 5:30 p.m., is the largest recruitment event for UGA-Tifton. CAES representatives will go over the admission process for all prospective UGA students.

The Southwest ShowCAES is the first of two ShowCAES events. There will also be a Southeast ShowCAES event on Thursday, Sept. 21, in Lyons, Georgia, at the Toombs County Agri-Center. It will also begin at 5:30 p.m.

Both events are free to attend, but guests should register online before the event because a meal is provided. For more information or to register, visit apply.uga.edu/portal/showCAES.

There will be breakout sessions for high school students who wish to enroll at UGA as freshmen as well as college students who wish to transfer to UGA. Both sessions will cover admission requirements and will be led by a representative from the UGA admissions office.

“Sometimes there’s a lot of mystery surrounding the application process for the University of Georgia, and ShowCAES is a great way to eliminate that mystery for students in south Georgia,” said Katie Murray, UGA-Tifton admissions counselor.

Faculty, staff and current students from all CAES departments will be in attendance and will have booths to provide information to students. Current students will be on hand to provide their perspectives.

“Students will be able to see all that the college has to offer,” Murray said. “They can interact with faculty, staff and students in a way that makes a lasting connection. They can forge friendships that will benefit them as they move forward in their college career.”

Murray also encourages parents to attend because portions of the event, such as the financial aid discussion, will be geared toward them.

“We want to help them filter through the hurdles and challenges of the application,” Murray said. “We’re simply making ourselves available to be a resource regarding the college decision-making process.”

More than 200 students are expected to attend the event.

“We try to get the word out to as many high schools, agricultural programs and UGA Cooperative Extension county offices as possible because we know those are the people who are interacting with potential students on a regular basis,” Murray said. “We’re also promoting it through social media, radio and several different avenues to let south Georgia students know about ShowCAES.”

(Julie Jernigan is an intern at UGA-Tifton.)