Applying to college can come with a lot of stress and confusion. Today it is harder than ever  for many students to get admitted to their top-choice schools. As a result, when colleges come to visit Ward Melville, seniors get the opportunity to listen to school representatives and ask them questions about the school’s opportunities, application process, and student life. Each visit gives attending seniors a clearer view of what attending a certain college would entail.

For the past few weeks different colleges have been sending their representatives to Ward Melville High School to meet with prospective applicants. Seniors around Ward Melville High School have been consumed with thoughts of college. With early admissions deadlines just passing and regular decision deadlines looming, many seniors rush to find out what school they feel suits themselves or what a certain school is looking for in applicants. The Ward Melville High School’s College Visitation Program helps students with both. This program also gives representatives from colleges the opportunity to explain why their college would be a good option for our seniors.

In order to attend a visit, seniors must sign up in advance on naviance and get a pass from guidance filled out by the teacher of class they will be missing for the visit. On naviance students can see the date and period the school will be visiting, how many of their peers will also be attending the meeting, giving students an idea oh how popular a college is among their fellow classmates, and the name of the school representative that is coming  Representatives tell students what their college considers when looking at  applicants, score requirements, financial aid,  and what is unique to their school. Representatives sometimes share their own experiences while attending the school and what opportunities they most enjoyed. They also tell students about the extracurricular and social facets of the school they are applying to, such as clubs, study abroad opportunities, and dining options on and off campus.

Regardless or interests, majors, or school choices the college visitation program uniformly helps students suppress qualms about the very stressful process of applying to colleges.  Senior, Nimra Ghani says, “I thought it was a great opportunity for me to explore my options here at our school. It was convenient and very helpful in guiding me with choosing the right college for me based off of my interests.” The college visitation program allows students to, “visit the college” when the college comes to Melville. “It helps students see their future options more clearly.”