With September comes fall, National Happy Cat Month, and college representative visits. Every few weeks, the College and Career Center welcomes admissions officers from a wide variety of universities to talk to upperclassmen about college life and the admissions process, providing an opportunity for students considering enrollment to ask questions and explore their options. While the CCC offers everything from essay assistance to one-on-one meetings, the representative visits are one of the biggest events. Since college is getting closer and closer for NAHS scholars, how are students reacting to these visits?
For juniors, college visits are a way to compile a list and see what schools may interest them. They act as a low-stakes, simple method of discovering what aspects of a school are important for each student. However, preparation is critical: planning questions and doing prior research can increase understanding and attentiveness during the visit. Not to mention, attending school-sponsored visits expresses demonstrated interest—the ways that a prospective student reaches out to a university—which many colleges take into account during the admissions process. Overall, the school’s organization can be helpful for those who are unsure of where to start looking. Junior Lily Floyd attended the Brown University visit and found it to be a helpful, stress-reducing experience. “I don’t know exactly what I want to study yet, but it showed me what I want a school to have,” she said.
On the contrary, these visits hold much more weight as a senior than as a junior. As the application deadline approaches, deciding what the main options are is incredibly important, and college visits assist with that process. Being able to pinpoint several institutions of interest adds focus, organization, and clarity to college searches. Additionally, the admissions officer who hosts the visit will likely be the one who decides whether or not to approve students, meaning there is a huge advantage in understanding what they are looking for and what can make an application stand out. Kayla Johnson, a senior assessing her in-state options, appreciates the opportunities provided by the school, especially since it can be difficult to manage a college search with no help. “I wish I had known earlier how organized you need to be throughout the college admissions process,” she said.
Whether college is right around the corner or still a distance away, the CCC is ready to help students prepare for and decide about post-secondary options. With visits everywhere from Notre Dame to the University of Georgia to the Berklee College of Music, September has been an incredible start to discovering more about life after North Atlanta.
