When colleges visit high schools

[Anonymous]

I would not skip class unless a senior

[Anonymous]

At our school the visits are open only to seniors.

But most will not skip class to attend. They will skip lunch or go during study hall period.

[Anonymous]

Our school only had visits during non class time.

[Anonymous]

Only for seniors at our HS. About 40+ come. 20-25 min visits. From T10s-T100s.

These are the regional officers reading the apps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only for seniors at our HS. About 40+ come. 20-25 min visits. From T10s-T100s.

These are the regional officers reading the apps

^ they came throughout the day. I Sign up on Scoir-have to tell teacher 2 days in advance and can’t miss a test for a visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no way my kids would want to miss all their fast-moving AP classes for info they can get online. These visits are entirely useless. Usually it's a little table with flyers, maybe a small presentation that's indistinguishable from all the others, and Q&A. Sometimes they do take names, but you can also go to the website and sign up for a virtual tour.

It's best to hop on occasional webinars organized by the PTA to figure out what college admissions officers are like, and how admissions work - they work the same at every school, with a few peculiarities at some, that you can find on their website. Then you can organize a tour of likely urban, rural, small and large schools at some point.

It’s the person that will be reading their apps. The regional admissions officer. It also shows interest- you sign in. My kid has a ton of APs and made the time to visit with the ones he was interested in.

[Anonymous]

I feel like a sophomore would just get in the way at something like that. Stay away and leave it for the seniors and perhaps juniors. I think it is helpful to meet people in person but there are so many sources of information now that at the early stage of the process, it is not the best use of time.

For those who go, tell your kid to sit attentively and show engagement, warmth, and a human side. Don't try to impress the admissions person as it will likely backfire and make your kid look like an insufferable nerdy suck-up. Questions like "how do you handle credits for those of us who got a 5 on BC Calc as a sophomore" do not impress them. It shows a complete lack of self-awareness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no way my kids would want to miss all their fast-moving AP classes for info they can get online. These visits are entirely useless. Usually it's a little table with flyers, maybe a small presentation that's indistinguishable from all the others, and Q&A. Sometimes they do take names, but you can also go to the website and sign up for a virtual tour.

It's best to hop on occasional webinars organized by the PTA to figure out what college admissions officers are like, and how admissions work - they work the same at every school, with a few peculiarities at some, that you can find on their website. Then you can organize a tour of likely urban, rural, small and large schools at some point.

It’s the person that will be reading their apps. The regional admissions officer. It also shows interest- you sign in. My kid has a ton of APs and made the time to visit with the ones he was interested in.

Our school limited to seniors as well but has juniors (who have to be selected by faculty and admin) take the AO's on school tour as a way to start the intro process and matching students to schools. Agree it is a great opportunity and worth making up work-the teachers know and allow students to go if they aren't behind on work in class.

[Anonymous]

First- everyone with kids who are deep in the admissions rat race should watch "Never Have I Ever", it's great. I would encourage your kid to attend those visits- even as a sophomore. Sometimes schools will skip a year or so at a HS, so it's a great way to get in front of your regional AO. My thought is that it cannot hurt to have your kid introduce themselves, be friendly and perhaps that AO might remember their name when sifting through apps down the road. And there were schools that my kid crossed off their list after attending these sessions- they decided it wasn't a great fit. So worth the time to sign up and attend for sure.

[Anonymous]

My DS went to a few and reported back that he learned nothing new, they were very stale generic presentations with a pretty generic q&a. Not a great use of his time so far!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS went to a few and reported back that he learned nothing new, they were very stale generic presentations with a pretty generic q&a. Not a great use of his time so far!

He might be missing the point. Yes, the presentations are canned and you won't learn much (or anything) you couldn't get by reading the website in fact its actually important that your kid does that before going to the school sponsored AO visit. The AO is coming to your HS generally because they have in the past and hope to in the future admit students from your school. I don't know the percentages but I'd guess fewer than 15% of applicants get the chance to meet someone who likely will read/sponsor/vote on their application in the hope that when that time comes the AO will say, yes I remember that kid, he seemed kind, smart and well liked by others, let's admit him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our school only seniors go to these meetings.

Same. At our school, they’re for seniors and juniors can participate with permission from the college counseling office. I definitely wouldn’t recommend a sophomore missing class for a college info session. There will still be plenty of opportunities to research and gather information without cutting into academic time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only for seniors at our HS. About 40+ come. 20-25 min visits. From T10s-T100s.

These are the regional officers reading the apps

Same as at our school...it was also the same way when I was in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS went to a few and reported back that he learned nothing new, they were very stale generic presentations with a pretty generic q&a. Not a great use of his time so far!

Both of the ones DC has attended this year (as a junior) have provided useful insight and specific tips about the application/ essay and what the school looks for. DC has found it worthwhile - but has only gone to ones during free periods. No missed class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're overthinking this. Your kid is in 10th grade. Just let her go - she'll figure it out.

You're right!
I would normally not think twice about this but she almost never asks me for advice anymore so I am grasping the rare chance to impart some wisdom. Alas I have none so I asked here.

It's time to start letting go and pumping her full of confidence that she can figure this out. That there will be lots of visits from colleges and if she sees she did something wrong or didn't do something she wishes she did, she'll have other chances, and as a 10th grader, nothing about this matters. Give her the advice to have faith in herself.

No one asked for your parenting advice