Fall is a taxing semester for a good deal of Westside High School students, but each year seniors get the added stress of applying to colleges. During this intense and lengthy process, seniors can find themselves lost in applications and choices. The pressure of choosing where they want to spend their next four years is on, creating both confusion and hassle.

Westside High school’s Guidance IMC tries to make this process easier by scheduling college visits for students to attend during their normal school day. Scheduled any where from 8:30 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m., seniors can be called out of class to attend these visits.

Visits can last any where from 30 minutes to one hour. The visits usually consist of a  representative from a college who comes and speaks about the atmosphere, financial aid and application process of the college they represent. They also can answer specific questions about majors and other programs that the school offers.

“It is a great way to get questions answered,” said Mike McCann, Westside’s College Application Counselor. “Students can find out a little bit more and maybe even have a conversation so that rep can put a face to a name, which can help if the student does decide to apply.”

In addition to the benefit of having a chance to ask questions and gather information specific to the individual student, attending a college visit can increase the students chances of being admitted to the school.

“We encourage college visits because research is showing that one of the top factors when colleges are considering who to admit is looking at [if the] student demonstrated interest,” McCann said. “And one of the ways that they measure that interest is by seeing if a student attended a presentation of their college.”

The advantages of college visits are clear, and with over 75 colleges visiting Westside each year from across the country, students are given many options to explore and learn about an array of schools. Schools that have visited Westside this past year include the University of Southern California, the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Vanderbilt and Vassar.

“There is a pretty wide variety,” McCann said. “There are the location institutions that come every year. We also get a number of schools from surrounding cities where we will typically have applicants on a yearly basis and then we will get representatives from schools where we consistently have student interest.”

While Westside hosts a number of colleges from across the nation, they do not schedule the visits themselves. Colleges contact the guidance IMC in order to set up a time in hopes of reaching students who want to attend. If you wish to attend a college visit and are a junior or senior, check your Naviance Account for dates and times of upcoming college visits.

Check attend visit next to the college in which you wish to attend and Naviance will send you a reminder email to your personal account. If you will be missing class for a visit make sure to tell your teacher ahead of time in order to get the work that you will miss.