As the year progresses, seniors are finalizing their college plans. One of the largest parts of this process is visiting campuses in person.
College visits allow seniors to explore what could be their home for the next four years. Most visits entail a campus tour of places like classrooms, dining halls and dorm rooms.
For athletes going on visits, this range of options can be expanded to meeting with other players, talking to the coaches and touring the athletic facilities.
All of these opportunities to any interested student simply cannot be offered online. They are an experience that can only be fulfilled in person.
A significant number of seniors have missed school for these visits, but their absences are excused.
“It’s a chance to see if the environment and culture of the school are a good fit,” senior guidance counselor Jolie Girton said.
Over fall break, seniors take advantage of the time off to travel to campuses across the country. These trips help students decide where they’ll submit their applications before the looming “Early Action/Decision” deadline on November 1.
“I chose to apply early to the University of Pennsylvania because it pretty much doubles my chances of getting admitted there,” senior Nola Boyle said.
There are several application types when applying to colleges. The most common is Regular Decision, with a deadline of January 1, 2025. It’s non-binding, meaning you don’t have to attend if accepted and decisions are typically announced in March.
Rolling Applications also have a January 1 deadline but are reviewed as they come in, with decisions sent out earlier.
Two other options, both due November 1, 2024, are Early Action and Early Decision. Early Action is non-binding like Regular Decision but has an earlier deadline. Early Decision is binding, meaning you must attend if accepted.
Fall break is the final round of visits, adding pressure to the decision-making process. Another date many seniors took advantage of was the October 22 PSAT day, where seniors could be excused from school for college visit or a job shadow.
“Seeing the campuses I visited in person helped me realize where I could possibly see myself next year,” senior Sammy Bernstein said.
Bernstein visited Purdue University on the PSAT day.
As the application process picks up, students are focusing more than ever on finding the right college fit. The decision of where each student will be spending their next 4 years of their life is an extremely high pressure choice but these visits can help tons in guiding on that decision.
