College Awareness: Visits from College Reps

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1 Why does it matter? Visits from college reps expose students to different types of colleges and universities early in their high school career College representatives will visit high schools to inform prospective students about their college and unique offerings Students have an opportunity to ask colleges about their programs, campus, etc. Students can learn about scheduling a campus visit The college rep who visits your high school is often the one who will handle the application from students at your school, so it s a great time for a student to develop a relationship and make a strong impression Visits from college reps often mean that the reps are highly interested in the type of student at your high school. They often represent colleges for which your school is a stronger feeder and for which your students are a good fit 55.2% of Class of 2011 seniors said that college recruiters were helpful in making their plan for next fall 1 Suggested Roles within your School Counselors: Lead the school in developing a school-wide policy on visits from college reps. Organize visits from college representatives. Help ensure the college representative s visit is extremely positive. Publicize upcoming visits from representatives Coaches: Lead the school in developing a school-wide policy on visits from college reps. Organize visits from college reps. Help ensure the college representative s visit is extremely positive. Publicize upcoming visits from reps. Guide students on how to best utilize the rep visits Teachers: Encourage students to visit with college representatives. Work with the counseling team to invite a representative from your undergraduate or graduate university Principals and APs: Encourage the counseling team to host visits from college reps and encourage students to attend fairs Parent Liaisons or CBOs: Ask the counseling team how you can assist with college representative visits. Make sure parents and students know about their right to opt out of being on college lists. Reach out to your alma mater to see if they would be interested in visiting your child s school Student Groups: Let the counseling team know about the college and universities you would like to have visit your school. Host a representative for the day (e.g., ensuring the representative knows where to go and has a positive experience, market the event to make sure students attend, etc.) Ready-to-Use Materials Visit to view and download most materials Von Steuben s College Handbook College Representative Visits.doc (page 20).doc (Von Steuben Counseling Team) - Page 20 is an overview directed to the student. See for Von Steuben and other college handbooks with similar information CVCA Questions to Ask Recruiters.ppt (CVCA, Carole Jacobs) - Questions for students to ask college recruiters at a fair, the college or their HS 1. Senior Exit Questionnaire: Preliminary Results for the Class of 2011, 1

2 Key Issues and Resolutions Issue Resolution Students may not advantage of representatives visiting their school. They do not visit the rep or are unprepared Effective Practice 3, 6 Visits at the school can be uncoordinated and not the best experience for the college representative Effective Practice 1-2, 4 Effective Practices The Fundamentals 1. Develop and follow a school-wide policy on visits from college representatives a. Recommendation: All visits from post-secondary reps should go through the College and Career Coach or a specific counselor b. As a school, decide on the following issues: i. Can a representative present during class time? If so, what can they present on? ii. Can a representative take student information? iii. Can a student miss a class to attend a session with a representative (if the teacher approves it in advance)? iv. Can students have a pass out of lunch to talk to a representative? 2. Develop a strategy of how and when you would like a college representative to engage with your students a. Options include: i. Representative hosts a table about their specific college during lunch hours ii. Representative conducts an information session about the specific college before, after, or during school iii. Multiple representatives speak on a panel related to college admissions iv. Representative assists with reviewing personal statements v. College fair at your school with many representatives hosting tables 3. Educate students about the advantages of talking to college representatives who visit your school a. Coach students on appropriate questions to ask representatives 4. Ensure the college representative has a very positive visit and continue to develop an ongoing relationship with representatives a. Make it easy for the rep to visit your school. Provide specific information about parking, where to find you, and your cell number b. Provide the rep with a printed overview of your high school (e.g., what makes your high school unique, student stats, etc.) c. Ensure that the rep feels welcome (e.g., is greeted, has a designated area to setup in) and feels like his/her time was well used (e.g., many prepared students visited the representative ) d. Send thank you notes after the rep visits. Ask for feedback on the ease and usefulness of their visit 5. Inform students, staff, and administration about which schools are proprietary schools and provide advice a. Proprietary schools are for-profit businesses which provide education and training 2

3 Effective Practices As your program grows 6. Have a student host the representative throughout the day a. A student host can help make sure the college representative s visit is very positive. It also gives the student a chance to develop a relationship with a representative from a college in which s/he is very interested 7. Inform parents and upperclassman students of their right to opt out of having their information shared with military recruiters and/or colleges/universities a. This usually needs to happen by late November ( Common Mistakes to Avoid Forgetting the representative was coming to your school and/or not pre-preparing a location for the representative to spend the day 3

4 External Internal College Awareness: Visits from College Reps Coaches and Counselors Network Specialists Parents Choose Your Future College, University and Military Representatives Resource Description Where to Find Resource to support students on their journey to college and career Resource to support schools and students in their journey to college and career May be able to help organize campus visits and college tours Students impressions from 2011 tours (video) Representatives provide information on their university to students In your school In your Network In your school 11/06/video-impressions-2011-springbreak-college-tours College/university websites, referrals from teachers and others in your school College Board Article on college representative visits ance/college/reps Note of Appreciation Thanks to the following people for helping develop this toolkit: Steve Kanoon (Schurz, Counselor), Victor Ochoa (Schurz, Counselor), Maddie Orenstein (Schurz, Coach), Keleyssa Block (Foreman, Counselor), Anastasia Vailas (Foreman, Counselor), Suraj Patel (Pathways to College and Career) 4

5 What does it mean at every grade level? Grade 9 exploration and information gathering Grade 10 exploration and information gathering Grade 11 identifying the top colleges the student is most interested in Grade 12 getting tips and tricks for the college application from an insider Students host a college rep for the day to ensure the rep has a great experience Note: Many grade level activities are cumulative 5