As high school comes to a close for seniors, college becomes more of a reality. Senior year is full of testing, applications, stress, and college visits, all in preparation to go off to college in a year. Seniors and some juniors go near and far to get a view of their dream schools.
Senior Matteo Guillot de Suduiraut ’16, went to great lengths to make his college visit happen. After the emotional and exhausting Senior Pilgrimage, de Suduiraut ’16 embarked on a plane soon after getting home. He left for the east coast for a two- day trip to visit two schools, Boston College and Georgetown. He says the stress was worth it because he needed up really liking both schools.
Seniors make sure that they get to see the schools they may be attending in a little less than a year. These trips often start even before the school year starts. Senior Ruby Hampton ’16, went to California in August to get a taste of the California college life. She visited three schools including Cal Poly, Santa Clara, and UC Santa Barbara. After her visit she had better view of the type of school she wanted since they are all so different. Hampton ’16 says, “Once you take your visits, you feel way more prepared and less stressed about applying to college. The best part about looking early was being able to look at all my options and take my time applying.”
Some students chose to start college trips even earlier than the summer before senior year. Whether they visited colleges with their older siblings or they just started their college search early, some juniors have already explored their options beyond high school. College counselors help students begin their search early by encouraging not only seniors but also juniors to attend college meetings at Prep. These meetings get prospective excited and motivated to research and visit colleges.
College tours give students a chance to get the inside scoop on the school. Tours normally start with an information session about the school and what it has to provide. Each schools information session is presented slightly differently as to accentuate the things the school takes pride in. Next, is a tour in which prospective students see the best parts of the school. Generally, this includes the recreation center, a dorm building, and the library. The tour is crucial in understanding the right college for each student. While students are on the tour they may find something in particular that sparks their interest in the school or they may just get the feeling that it is the right place for them. Olivia Gilbert ’16 shared that “Scripps just felt right, I loved it. I can’t say exactly what it was but I am so excited to apply and hopefully get in to enjoy what it has to offer.”
College visits help colleges see who is interested in their school and also help prospective students find their best-fit college. Colleges make note of who visited to see who has a strong interest in their school. This can help with admissions. College visits are crucial for prospective students to show interest in colleges and also figure out where they want to spend the next four, or more, years of their lives.