Visiting colleges can be easier
Visiting colleges is a necessity for high school seniors to truly know where they belong. Though our school gives our seniors two excused days at any time of the school year to visit colleges, all the work that we need to makeup on the days we miss can be a large weight on our shoulders.
Let’s say a senior needs to visit a college on the East Coast on Oct. 5, Petersen went to visit Princeton in New Jersey and had an excused absence. First, she had to go to the office and fill out a planned absence slip stating why she was going to be absent. She then had to get it signed by Assistant Principal Kelly Welch. Finally, she had to get every teacher she had on Oct. 5 to sign a slip excusing her from the day. At this point Amy’s job seemed done, but the massive amounts of work she needed to make up made the trip a little less enjoyable.
As students at NPHS students, missing one day of school is like missing two. Our block class periods mean that when you miss class you are basically missing two lessons — the equivalent to two days at a school with a regular schedule. Although teachers try to accommodate and help with the workload when students take these trips, work still has to be done. Sometimes accommodations cannot be made because missing even a bit of the lesson can only hinder students.
Having an extensive period of time off for seniors to visit colleges will make the process more relaxing. Many schools in the nation give a week or a couple of days for all seniors to visit colleges. This method is much more organized, structured and easier to deal with for students, teacher and parents.
At Louisville High School, a private school in Woodland Hills, California, a week off is given to seniors to visit their prospective colleges. There is no work to make up and both students and teachers have no stress. If a student plans to visit colleges during said week off, they have dates preplanned when to go, there will be no work to do during the break since teachers will also have a week off and parents can plan ahead of time for the upcoming days. By having a planned set of days off for seniors to visit colleges, they can do it to the fullest.
