Walking into the LRC, it’s not an unusual sight to notice clusters of students gathering around the smaller meeting rooms and listening to representatives in college sweatshirts; in fact, it’s as casual as Mama Mary helping people at the counter or the din of laughter, chatter, and relaxing music from the tables. As many CdM students know, the Learning Resource Center hosts over 250 college visits a year, often in the form of presentations in the adjacent meeting rooms to the LRC. What exactly these entail often depends on the college, but as the head of all of this, Mama Mary has some wonderful insight.
Mama Mary’s wisdom stems from her many years of helping students with college and career counseling. Over the years, she has built professional relationships with the representatives of hundreds of colleges and universities in the US and internationally.
When asked what college visits usually offer, she shares, “They give both a general overview… and will be specific on certain, important aspects of their school, like what majors they offer, class size, scholarships and financial aid, tests optional or required, clubs, sports, [and] Greek life.” For those just beginning their college search, there’s nothing better than a general overview of the campus environment of a school they may want to look into, especially highlighting the best things that school has to offer. However, these college visits aren’t just for those beginning their college search—Mama Mary encourages all grades to attend and learn.
For those who believe college is too far off to consider, there’s no harm in popping into a visit or two to get a feel for what the process will be like when they’re ready to start looking more seriously. They might even decide the college visiting is the right place for them! And, for those who feel they’ve already chosen the colleges they’re applying to, Mama Mary adds, “It is never too late to start meeting college reps!… Our students get to know the [college admission representative] and hopefully get admitted!”
These visits are priceless when learning more about a college. “[During the visit,] the representative gives each student a detailed brochure about their school. They [also] have the students scan a QR code that records their attendance [indicating] ‘demonstrated interest’ the students have for the school,” Mama Mary explained. Also, these visits will allow students to ask additional questions and start getting to know the rep who will be looking through their application.
Attending these visits is crucial to seniors and juniors because it allows them to learn more about the schools they are applying to or are interested in. Joon Lee, a junior at CdM, knows just how crucial these visits are and is attending these visits to “get information about the popular majors for each college and strategies to get into a certain college and how to make my application strong,” Lee stated.
In conclusion, CdM’s college visits offer a vital overview to students of all grades, and Mama Mary’s hard work to host the most visits of anyone in Orange County should not be ignored by the student body.