LearnmoreMN Blog

Engaging students in the college visit experience

By Adrienne Diercks, February guest blogger

College tours are not rocket science (unless that is what the student wants to explore!). However, the depth and breadth — engaging fully with the experience and the process — is critical to a successful college visit. Earlier this month I wrote about the importance of “why” to a student’s college search. A student who has done the work of the “why” knows herself — her passions, strengths, values, and what she wants to learn from a college search. When she is supported by a trusted adult, knows how to find out what’s “out there” and has the tools and skills she needs to explore her choices, she is equipped to make deductions and analyze her options. It’s easy to look at the surface, but when a student peels away the layers and truly understands what she is looking at, she is able to reach the best decision for herself and her future.

Project SUCCESS has been bringing students to college campuses for 20 years. Over that time, we have identified and incorporated key components to help students peel back the layers and make the best decisions. I want to share a few of these best practices with you. I would also like to hear from you — what best practices have you incorporated? Where and when have you seen students find success in the search process? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Project SUCCESS organizes and hosts state and national college tours to more than 40 campuses each year. These are critical opportunities that inspire and educate students, including many first-generation college applicants, about post-secondary education opportunities. For some students, a campus visit will inform them instantly whether or not that particular campus is right for them. For other students, a campus visit to any college is beneficial to see firsthand what college life is like and to motivate them to start their college search.

Our staff conducts workshops on tour days to help students make the most of their campus visit. Students identify three to five key values they want to see in “their” college. They prepare thoughtful questions for admissions staff.

In addition to the typical student-led tour and admissions presentation, when possible we also schedule a student panel so our high school students can ask current college students candid questions about their college experience. A visit to the office of cultural diversity is important as well, as we bring a diverse student body from a large urban district on these college tours. We eat lunch on campus (in the dining center) and encourage our students to sit with current college students and ask questions.

We conduct neighborhood tours, visiting the community that surrounds the campus. Students ask themselves, “Is this a community that I can see myself living in and that I want to be a part of?” When a school feels like the right fit after a visit, we encourage students to take the next step of scheduling an overnight visit and sitting in on at least one class.

Following campus visits, students' facilitators are available to help them take the next steps in the application process through after-school one-on-one planning sessions. What are the next steps a student should take if he found the perfect school? What if he didn’t find one that resonates?

When students feel that the school they are visiting is not the right fit, we encourage them to think critically about that conclusion. We want them to ask themselves, “What is it that doesn’t feel right to me about this school?  What would make my opinion change? How can I find another school that might have those attributes?”

Virtual tools and online resources are extremely valuable, but nothing can replace the immersive campus visit experience. It completes the foundation of “why” and truly enables students to make conscious, well-considered decisions with confidence, which builds the foundation for success.

Helping students individualize the college search process

By Adrienne Diercks, February guest blogger

Over the past decade, the number of students choosing to go to college after high school has increased significantly. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 21.8 million students will attend college as of the fall of 2013, which is an increase of 6.5 million since 2000. This increased interest in attending college has also created an environment where college is no longer seen as a choice but an expectation.

For the past 21 years, Project SUCCESS has been helping students visualize the future of their dreams and create a plan to get there. As a part of this work, I have seen personally how this new college-going culture has affected the way students and families visualize and prepare for their postsecondary futures. More and more often, students are embarrassed or feel like they are letting people down if they are unsure about going to college. Others are convinced that they should go to college, but are finding that, while college access services help with completing the steps to apply and gain acceptance, those services are not helping students ask and answer the most critical question in the college selection process: Why do I want to go to college?

With all the benefits a college education entails, if a student is not inspired by the why of going to college, then they are more likely to disengage from that experience or travel down a path that will lead them to an outcome they did not foresee, intend or desire. Regardless of a student’s socio-economic background, home environment or level of achievement, if they are not excited and invested in their future direction and actually see themselves in that future, they risk a larger chance of experiencing obstacles and potential failure.

As adults supporting young people, one of our roles is, of course, to help them get them into college. I would argue that another, more important role, is to help them visualize how they will be successful in that experience and to help them access the tools they need to make that vision a reality. When a student sees college as an option, that student should also have a good sense of why they are pursuing that college degree. When that happens, young people are more likely to fully embrace the college experience and be on the right path to creating the futures they have envisioned.