WOODBURY – As the end of the school year is quickly approaching, time is ticking for juniors to get ready for the college application process. For juniors, this incoming summer isn’t just a relaxing break- it’s the official kickoff and critical window of an opportunity to get a head start for the college process.
Parents are already packing onto campus tour buses, scheduling information sessions and mapping out multi-state road trips.
With already going on college tours this past April break, Junior Kailey Townsend feels more prepared by having more plans this summer to get her tours finished early.
“I have toured NYU, Boston College and Boston University,” Townsend said.
Townsend has already made her plans to travel around for different colleges she finds appealing.
(Courtesy of Kailey Townsend)
“I have a lot of summer plans to look at colleges as well,” Townsend said. “I know that I want to look at Rhode Island and some other schools up the east coast. I am also looking forward to seeing some over in Europe this summer with my family.”
Like Townsend, junior Iris Messore has also already had some college tours- which helps her plan her route earlier on.
“I’ve done one at a school in Rhode Island called Rhode Island College, and one at a school in Massachusetts called Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences,” Messore said. ”I plan on going to Quinnipiac and some other schools in Rhode Island.”
Even when a step ahead by touring colleges through junior year as well as the summer, overall the search can feel overwhelming.
Although Messore is a step ahead when exploring different colleges she likes, with junior year quickly coming to an end, she feels overwhelmed with all the planning that is coming up.
“I definitely feel stressed, it just feels like there is such a deadline that I have to get all these college visits done but it’s just cool to check out the different environment and life at all the schools,” Messore said.
College and Career Counselor Kathy Green thinks the earlier you start the better, but it’s easier to see the environment when there are students all around you when touring.
“The best ideal way would have been in the spring when students are on campus,” Green said. “I’d say it is a good idea to visit campus in the summer just to see them, but you’re not going to get the true pulse of a campus because they won’t be filled with the student body. You’ll get a sense of architecture and size but you’re not necessarily going to get culture with visits in the summer.”
Instead of going just in the summer, Green suggests going in the fall after college students get back from summer break.
“A more impactful way could be to visit days in the fall when the students are back on campus,” Green adds. “I was just listening to a podcast this morning, the other half would be if you can’t make it out to the campus, just make sure it is a good fit academically, the numbers align. If you haven’t been able to make it, and the summer tours are the only thing available, it’s okay. I will also be visiting schools with my daughter, because life is busy. If that’s all you can do, that is certainly worthwhile.”
