As summer comes to a close and the weather begins to transition from hot and humid to cool and crisp, the idea of college is beginning to encroach on the minds of many upperclassmen. Seniors are taking notice of rapidly approaching application dates, while juniors are starting to feel the pressure of deciding which college to attend and major to choose.
Luckily, there are plenty of resources available on the Hill to help students out with these life-changing decisions, including annual college visits.
These visits began on September 5 and will run through the second week of November. They’re open to juniors and seniors only and take place during the school day in the college and career center, room 4235, which can be found in the religion hallway.
College and career coordinator Ms. Kathy Pivonka especially encourages juniors to attend the visits. She said, “It might seem a little scary at first, but the kids who come to a few visits their junior year learn the application process and a little bit of the lingo. When they come in senior year, I ask, ‘Did those visits help?’ and they say, ‘Oh, I feel much more comfortable now than I did [before].’”
An email was sent out by the counseling office on August 31 detailing how to sign up for college visits. Students must log into Naviance via Clever; once they reach the home page, they must click on the “College” tab at the top of the page and select “College Visits” under the “Research Colleges” section. Then, they can register for upcoming visits, which they must do 24 hours in advance.
The morning of the visit, Ms. Pivonka will email students’ teachers to excuse them from the class that they will be missing. If students can’t attend a session due to a test, retreat, or other circumstance, they can either stop by the college and career center at the beginning of the period to introduce themselves and take a pamphlet or retrieve extra materials from Ms. Pivonka within the next couple of weeks. She can even connect them with the visiting representative if they so desire.
So far, Ms. Pivonka has confirmed and scheduled about 70 visits, but she estimates that around 100 to 120 colleges will have traveled to the Hill by the end of the school year. Among the more popular upcoming visits include the University of Notre Dame on September 20 and Ball State University on September 25.
College visits differ from college fairs, which typically take place in larger areas like gyms or parks and feature booths from a variety of universities, in that they’re a more in-depth and personal experience. While anyone can attend college fairs, and they’re great for getting a basic idea of different schools, college visits provide an opportunity to connect with an administrator from a school and form a more intimate relationship with them.
Ms. Pivonka said, “I really encourage students to look into visits, even if it’s a school they might not be considering. I think it’s something that our kids need to take more advantage of. That perfect school might be here, and if you don’t visit, you might never know that it’s the perfect match for you.”
