REAGAN FITZKE

Counseling is beginning to prepare juniors for what comes after high school, also known as the post-secondary process. This week a junior class meeting was held in which counselors provided juniors with information about upcoming events, standardized testing, and arguably one of the most important parts of the college process- college visits.

Most college visits occur in the first semester, but roughly 30 or 40 will be visiting in the second semester for the students who still want to learn more about various universities.

Counselor Aaron Ragon is an advocate for these college visits. “There’s a tactical advantage that a student that goes to a college visit has over a kid who doesn’t,” Ragon said. “I personally know a number of students who receive scholarships and I presume acceptances to colleges because here’s the deal: nobody, very few kids attend these college visits.”

Since so few students attend these visits, the ones who do can build personal relationships with the college representatives. “You basically have the opportunity to do an interview and make a good impression. That’s why when that guy reads your application he might accept you and even scholarship you if he has access to that,” Ragon said.

Ragon believes all students can benefit from attending college visits. “I think its a great way to learn. It’s a really important component of what happens after high school,” Ragon said.

Students can browse and sign up for college visits on Naviance. Naviance also has a feature that allows students to list colleges they are interested in. When one of those schools listed visits Mountain Vista, an email notification is sent to the student.

“I would say, fill up the list with schools you’re interested in,” Ragon said. “That way you don’t have to constantly look for the visits. Letting students know that they should pack their ‘Colleges I’m Interested In’ list sounds pretty boring but it’s a pretty salient tool for the future.”