Letter to Incoming Freshman: "How Much Do You Know About HPU?"

Dear New HPU Student,
My name is Emily Foster and I am currently a Freshman at High Point this year and I just wanted to share some things about HPU that you may not already know, and some that I'm sure you will know. I believe that the following information will be useful and informative for you to know before arriving at HPU.

1. College is hard. Its hard to go from living at home with your parents reminding you of everything you need to do, to going to college where you are completely 100% responsible for yourself and your work. Statistics show that only 6 of 10 entering freshman nationally survive the first year of college and of those 6, 4 will earn their bachelor's degree.
2. You have to make the grade. At HPU you must have GPA of 2.0 or better to: 1) graduate, 2) avoid being put on academic probation, 3) take part in greek life, 4) play sports. So its's very important to maintain your grades and do your work.
3. There is always help. Whether you need help in French or Calculus, there will always be someone to help you. Tutoring services are accessible to all students. Getting a tutor is easy, all a student has to do is go to the Smith Library and go to the 4th floor. Where academic services is located.
4. If you need a tutor Greg is your guy. This one kind of goes with number 3, but if you are interested in getting a tutor you would need to go see Greg, who is in charge of tutoring at HPU.
5. Credits. To be considered a sophomore a student must have completed 28 hours before the opening of the sophomore year. The average amount of classes a student will take in one semester is 4 classes. There is limit to how many credits you may take in one semester. A student can be enrolled in a maximum of 18 credits per semester (without doing an "overload").
6. Grades. The grade of a WA on a transcript is given to a student who stops going to class in all. The WA stands for withdraw, meaning that the student has with drawn from the class.
7.  Grading System. In the HPU grading system an A is considered "superior" work, a B is considered "excellent" work, and a C is considered "average".
8. Graduation Requirements. A total of 128 credits/semester hours is required for graduation. Also, in order to graduate a student must have AT LEAST an average of a C (2.0) in their major and may not have more than 2 grades of a D in required courses in their major. As far as your minor goes, you may not have more than 2 D grades in any of the minor courses.
9. Class Times. The first class period on Tuesdays and Thursdays starts at 7:50 A.M.
10. Responsibility. The STUDENT is responsible for monitoring progress and assuring completion of ALL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS. Do not just rely on the help of your advisors or a faculty member, you must be responsible for yourself.
11. Professors. At HPU there are a total of 200 professors employed this year.
12. Adding Classes. There is a time limit on being able to add a class. No student is allowed to add courses later than 7 days after classes begin each semester.
13. Junior Marshals. At the beginning of your Junior year the top 20 students will be designated as the Junior Marshals for the academic year.
14. Minor. A minor is a short sequence of courses, normally requiring a minimum of 
15. Academic Probation. Freshman students who are on probation after the Fall semester must earn a cumulative GPA of 1.7 or higher at the end of the Spring semester in order to return to HPU.
16. Size. In the 2009-2010 High Point University had a student enrollment of approximately 3700 students. 
17. Dean's List. To make the Dean's List a student must be taking at least 12 credits in a semester and earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
18. Psychological counseling. We do offer psychological counseling to all students that is located on the 3rd floor of Slane. But hopefully you won't have to visit that floor.
19. Foreign Language. A student must earn 6 semester hours of the same foreign language at the 202 level as a General Education Requirement.
20. Making sure you get credit. If a student wants to take a summer source from another institution for a summer course, the student must earn a  grade of a C or higher

I know that this is a lot of information to take in at first, and that some is a bit intimidating when you first hear it, but with all the help and support that you receive at HPU your bound to succeed. I hope that after having read this you have learned something new about HPU. I can't wait to see you here in the fall and if you have any questions please feel free to call me.
                                                                                    
                                                                                               Respectfully, Emily Foster