WELCOME TO WEEK THREE OF THE CORONAVIRUS BLOG!
Thank you to everyone who read the blog last week! As a reminder, or for anyone just joining us, I’ll be sharing college-related updates with you each Friday while we ride out the waves and impacts of coronavirus. These will include tour and admission information, how schools are staying connected, and news from the home front (me!). If there’s anything specific that you’d like to see featured here, don’t hesitate to reach out and I’ll do my best.
NEWS AND UPDATES
Virtual College Fair
Monday, April 20 – Thursday, April 23, 2020
Sponsored by StriveScan, the Virtual College Exploration Week is offering Strive for College Knowledge: A Virtual College Exploration Week. This includes 4 days of free panel presentations from over 100 college representatives on an extensive range of topics targeted towards juniors and underclassmen. Registration is required; a variety of time slots are offered with both day and evening options. Advance registration is mandatory for each session students wish to attend. Students, parents, and counselors can visit this link for registration and schedule details: https://www.strivescan.com/virtual/.
The Direct Impact: Am I Valued?
Yesterday I came across a recent podcast hosted by W. Kent Barnds, who is Executive VP and VP of Enrollment, Communications & Planning at Augustana College in Rock Island, Il. He interviewed a high school senior, Natalie, and her dad about her process in working toward a decision in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout the discussion, Natalie mentioned taking the steps that so many students in her position are taking to make sure they have done their due diligence before making that important decision. Without having the opportunity for an in-person campus visit (it had been a year since she had visited one of them and wanted to return), she has taken the virtual campus tours, attended virtual admitted student days and with her parents, compared information on housing, costs, majors and more. She attended many Zoom meetings!
Amidst all of the discussion, there were two points that Natalie touched upon that really stood out to me:
The first: the importance of communication. It was clear from listening to her that the colleges that stood out were those with consistent, thoughtful communication. She mentioned it was the colleges that communicated well during the search and application process that were the ones that best communicated after she was accepted. In addition to online admitted student days/events, she mentioned that there were frequent calls and emails. In fact, at one of the colleges, a parent of a current student actually called and spoke with Natalie’s mom. Natalie also had a one-on-one call with the Director of Recruitment. Why was this communication so important? Beyond getting her questions answered, by reaching out the colleges showed her that they are as interested in her as she is in them. They made her feel valued!
The second: making each visit count. Natalie mentioned that when she originally visited the colleges, she took mediocre notes. She’d assumed that once she got her acceptances, she would be able to revisit those that were on the top of her list before ultimately making her decision. Now, with second visits an impossibility, it is hard to remember certain aspects of each of the schools, and she wishes she’d taken more robust, more detailed notes to reference now. While no one could have imagined a pandemic that forced all college campuses across the country to shut down, there is always the possibility that your teen won’t have the opportunity to return to all of the colleges on her list. If you have teens who will be visiting college campuses in the future, remind them to have some type of detailed record of their visits—they can be written notes or notes taken on their phone or tablet, and they can be enhanced with photos—anything that will help them to remember what they’ve seen.
Custom College visits has available a College Visit Student Journal which students can use to record their campus visits. Please let us know at info@customcollegevisits.com if you’d like us to send you a copy.
COOL THINGS STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES ARE DOING IN THE MEANTIME
A Bedroom with A View
With their traditional semester halted, Berklee College of Music students are getting creative! This playlist represents artists who have created enduring music under limited or atypical circumstances. More quality quarantine playlists from Berklee can be found here.
Spring Has Sprung!
Spring is when everything comes back to life after a long winter – and this is especially true on college campuses! Enjoy some beautiful flora and fauna from schools around the country.
THE HOME FRONT
Creative Ways to Spend the Time
This week, we turned to some purchases to help pass time. My son bought a ukulele and is going to teach himself how to play. Stay tuned for updates! My husband bought a basketball hoop, and is excited about the extra workout! My daughter and I have started watching Mad Men for the first time, and we’re hooked!
