Rising high school seniors in Dunwoody and Brookhaven can tour Oglethorpe University's campus, get admission tips and start their Common App on Saturday, August 1, at the school's Senior Open House. The free event runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4484 Peachtree Rd. NE in Brookhaven.

The open house includes a student-led campus tour and a complimentary lunch. Afterward, Dr. Ginger Fay, Oglethorpe's vice president of enrollment management, will lead an optional Common App workshop walking students through their first application steps.

The event lands days before Dunwoody High School's first day of classes on Monday, August 3, according to the school's official calendar.

A physicist who almost became a marine biologist

Oglethorpe is pairing the open house push with a new essay from Dr. Mariel Meier, associate professor of physics, published July 16 on the university's website. Meier wrote that she never planned to become a physicist. As a child she wanted to be a teacher, then a writer, then a marine biologist. She spent middle school writing science fiction stories as much as studying science.

"I did not fall in love with physics as a child. In fact, I didn't discover it until late in high school," Meier wrote. "When I finally took physics, I found a subject that combined many things I already loved: problem solving, creativity, mathematics and a desire to better understand the world around me."

That late discovery led Meier to create Oglethorpe's Computational Physics track, which combines physics, programming and computational methods. She wrote that she battled imposter syndrome in college and graduate school because she lacked formal computer science training, and that experience now shapes how she supports students facing academic self-doubt.

What families should know about cost

Oglethorpe, a private liberal arts university, lists tuition at $43,710. The school says 99% of applicants automatically qualify for a merit scholarship with no separate application required, though the university does not publish a dollar range for those awards on its financial aid page. Georgia residents may also combine merit aid with the state HOPE Scholarship.

The Senior Open House is open to all rising high school seniors. Registration details are available at oglethorpe.edu.