About 300 first generation college-bound students will take part in CSUN's second annual "Eighth Grade Symposium." Among the things the youngsters will be doing is meeting with CSUN faculty and shadowing university students while they attend class.

"This is an opportunity for them to get a taste of what university life could be for them," said Fidel Ramirez, interim associate director of Student Outreach and Recruitment Services. "The highlight of the date for the eighth graders is shadowing the college students. For the first time, they really get to experience the difference between high school and a university.

"The day is designed to give them ownership of the idea of enrolling at a university," Ramirez said.

Ramirez said eighth grade is a crucial time in a young person's life. It is the year before they enter high school and start making decisions that could affect their higher education choices.

While at the symposium, the eighth graders will learn how to access CSU Mentor, an Internet web site where they can create an academic portfolio that will track what classes they take and how well they do in high school.

"They will be able to gauge how they are doing and what classes they need to take," Ramirez said. "Hopefully by the time they are seniors, they will have an idea of what state school, at least, they would like to apply to."

And they can use CSU Mentor to then apply to that particular CSU campus, he said.

Throughout the symposium, the eighth graders will receive information about what it takes to get into college and have ample opportunity to ask CSUN officials, faculty and students about university life.

For more information, call Ramirez or Francisco Dorame in CSUN's Student Outreach and Recruitment Services at (818) 677-2967.

California State University, Northridge has more than 29,000 full- and part-time students and offers 58 bachelor's and 50 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.