![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Juniors to attend college tours over spring break
Juniors began college counseling on Jan. 24. 76.5 percent of juniors plan to attend college visits over spring break, according to a Winged Post survey of 17 juniors.
March 27, 2017
With college applications on the horizon, 76.5 percent of juniors will go on college visits over spring break, according to a Winged Post survey of 17 juniors.
Most visits include a guided tour of the campus led by a current students and an admission officer, as well as an academic information session with an admission counselor. College visits allow many juniors to narrow down the selection of schools they will apply for.
“Right now, I don’t really know anything about the specific schools,” Anika Banga (11), who plans to visit colleges during spring break, said. “I think that visiting the colleges would really help me get an idea of what kind of school I want to go to—whether I want to go to a big school or a small school and things like that—and it’ll help me figure out what the vibe of each school is and help me decide where I belong.”
Alexander Lam (12) visited colleges last year and thought that his visits helped him understand the culture and atmosphere of unfamiliar colleges.
“I think that college visits definitely change your opinion because prior to those trips, the only conception I had of a university was the name attached to it,” he said. “Seeing the students firsthand and experiencing the student life there actually really changes your perception of the school.”
Martin Walsh, one of the upper school’s four college counselors, has found that college visits are particularly beneficial for juniors planning to apply early decision to colleges because early decision plans are binding.
“I feel it’s particularly important to visit colleges if you’re applying early decision to a university because if admitted to an ED school, you have to go—and quite frankly, most early decision schools are not in California,” Walsh said. “I think it’s important for students who are going to study that far from home to have set foot on the campus before they actually commit to the school.”
According to Walsh, some colleges also pay attention to whether a student visits the school to see if the student has expressed interest in attending.
The most popular times for juniors at Harker to visit colleges are President’s Week break, spring break and summer vacation.
“Visiting in the summer is when a lot of kids do visit, and that’s great by and large for schools here in California,” Walsh said. “The problem with the summer visit to a school on the East Coast—MIT or Boston or Dartmouth [College] in New Hampshire—is that you’re getting the ideal weather, and you’ll almost be caught by surprise at how cold and dark it gets when winter comes.”
Juniors started college counseling to discuss their plans on Jan. 24 and will begin applying to colleges over the summer and this fall.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 28, 2017.
