College representative visits inform potential students
For some, the most daunting challenge of applying to college is the first step—the college list. With nearly 4,000 universities in the United States, creating a balanced list of schools to apply to can be a large task. At Newbury Park High School [NPHS], the College and Careers Center [CCC] provides access to numerous resources to help students apply to college, including college representative visits, where counselors from various universities visit NPHS to present information and answer student questions during lectures of up to 35 attendees.
Amanda Renaud, NPHS’s CCC Guidance Specialist, is responsible for organizing these visits. Renaud distinguishes that there are different kinds of representatives who come to provide information about their respective schools. “[Usually], the [visitors] are a combination of admission recruiters and admission counselors who do read the applications that students apply with, especially small, private schools,” Renaud said.
Kaamilah Sha, admissions counselor at UC Irvine, visited NPHS on Oct. 9 to present details about the university. “This is the best way to get a personal conversation with that person representing that university,” Sha said. “They know a lot more about campus life and the academic programs, so you’re going to do yourself such a big favor by attending.”
These visits also differ from college fairs, which also involve representatives sharing information to local students about their schools. “College fairs are a great way for you to ask very quick questions,” Sha said. “But, after a [visit], you can talk to the counselor, which I feel is a lot more effective with the students.”
As he prepares to apply to college in November, Nehemiah Hylton, senior, believes that attending these representative visits has influenced where he will be submitting applications. “I learned a lot about the school culture and also got a sense of what it is like to apply,” Hylton said. “This event showed me the financial aid and scholarship [resources] the center has, which I didn’t know about until I had stepped foot inside. I also learned about how helpful the staff is there.”
The NPHS CCC will be offering four more visits from the time of publication—University of Redlands on Oct. 27, Portland State University on Oct. 28, University of Arizona on Oct. 30, and Northern Arizona University on Nov. 5. “Often, these visits are about getting some final questions answered before they choose to apply […] which can make or break the decision of whether or not the student will apply to the school,” Renaud said.
