By Hoa Nguyen, Staff Writer

Greenwich Times

Article Launched:07/08/2008 02:30:40 AM EDT

When Bridget Bauer starts the College of Charleston this fall, she is looking forward to a whole new set of classmates and a totally different way of life. But what may remind her a little of home will be the six other Greenwich teens who will attend the same South Carolina college.

"I'm going south because I wanted to try something new, but it turned out there are four or five people going from Greenwich High School," she said.

The high school recently published its graduation statistics for the Class of 2008, which show that many students, as they start college this coming fall, will be joined by several peers from Greenwich High School.

Paul Jarvis, an All-American rugby player, knew in December that he had been accepted into Dartmouth College, but only found out recently that he will be joined by several students from Greenwich, including from the private Brunswick School.

"There are four other kids from the high school and a couple from Brunswick," Jarvis, 18, of Riverside said. "It's nice that I already know people up there."

At Princeton University, there will be nine Greenwich High School students starting in the fall, including football and lacrosse standout Jonathan Meyers. Although he was offered a full scholarship to play football at the University of Florida, Meyers turned it down.

"I turned it down for the academics," Meyers said. "After traveling everywhere and weighing the pros and cons of the different places, I realize Princeton has so much to offer and everything I was looking for."

While some students had a plethora of college choices, others were placed on a wait list and had to consider their options.

Kim O'Neill, 18, of Old Greenwich, had wanted to attend the University of Virginia, but after being placed on the wait list, she turned her attention to Wake Forest University, which had sent her an acceptance letter.

"It was one of my safety schools but I heard great things about it," said O'Neill, adding the deal was sealed after a visit to Wake Forest.

"It was a gorgeous school and everyone was nice," she said. "I got lucky."

While many Greenwich High School students will be attending top schools this fall, the most popular choice by far among graduates was Norwalk Community College. Sixty Greenwich High School seniors have been accepted to that college, according to school officials.

The college, which has open admissions, expects a portion of the students to change their mind and not enroll, though in the past, the enrollment numbers have been high, said Bill Chagnon, NCC's associate director of admissions. In 2007, 50 Greenwich High School students enrolled at NCC, according to the school's figures.

"There's a misconception that people have that Greenwich is all upper middle and higher social economic status and that's not true," Chagnon said. "It's a whole lot cheaper to go here than an Ivy League School."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=833049&forum_id=1#9955727)