College information sessions begin this week for seniors

A+representative+from+Chapman+University+hosts+an+information+session+to+prospective+seniors+looking+to+apply.+Seniors+can+sign+up+for+these+sessions+on+Naviance.%0A

Stacey Chao

A representative from Chapman University hosts an information session to prospective seniors looking to apply. Seniors can sign up for these sessions on Naviance.

College representatives will visit Harker for the next two months for information sessions. Starting the visits, John Hopkins and Chapman University visited prospective senior applicants during third and fourth period.

College visits are designed to help students who are interested in certain colleges, but who are unable to attend the actual colleges themselves. Up to four colleges will be coming to the campus on any particular day. Seniors can sign up for college visits on their Naviance page.

Some students responded positively to these colleges visits.

“It’s convenient because even if you’re a little bit interested, you can just go for a short time,” Leeza Kuo (12) said. “You don’t have to spend a whole weekend traveling somewhere and spend long periods of time in the car, like when I visited colleges on the east coast.”

Others have jumped on these college visits as an opportunity to demonstrate interest to certain universities and to aid them in making final decisions for colleges.

“A lot of people think about the name of the university and the numbers,” Ashin Mehta (12) said. “But it’s actually really important to see what you’re getting yourself into. Depending on what you want to do, that’s your next four to eight years.”

Though most seniors have a free period that allow them to attend a few sessions without worry, a majority of senior students are required to notify their teachers in advance, telling them that they will be missing class that day.

Students, like Hannah Bollar (12), believe that the constant skipping of classes could impact students’ performances in class.

“You might have a really hard class that you don’t want to miss, or a test that day that you might not able to move,” Hannah said. “And if you have athletics, they might complicate it some more.”

Some sessions have a handful of people signed up, but others, such as the Washington University in St. Louis or Santa Clara University sessions already have over 50 people in them.

Colleges visits will continue through September and October, and end on Nov. 6. Seniors interested in attending sessions can look at their Naviance page for a list, which will be updated throughout the next two months.