CCC brings colleges to campus

The University of Chicago visited the school’s College and Career Center on Sept. 7.

Popular colleges like USC require a location shift to the McAfee Center.

As in previous years, a steady stream of college representatives from across the nation have been visiting the school during the fall semester to provide valuable insights to juniors and seniors. The visits are hosted in the College and Career Center (CCC).

In the month of September alone, 43 school visits are planned, and approximately 100 colleges in total will visit this fall, College and Career specialist Brad Ward said. The primary focus of these visits is to inform prospective students about opportunities offered at specific schools such as special programs, as well as to paint a picture of student culture and college life at that school. Session formats vary from college to college, with some holding informational presentations while others do Q&As.

Student attendance to the visits varies greatly — popular schools where many students apply have greater attendance than smaller, lesser-known schools. Some colleges such as Fairfield University and Virginia Military Institute receive only a handful of attendees while visits for schools like USC and UIUC see a jam-packed CCC with up to 70 attendees. Larger visits even occasionally require a move to the McAfee Center.

According to Ward, one drawback from having large audiences is that college representatives struggle to remember individuals, which she feels is one of the main benefits of college visits.

Senior Nishant Nair attended Indiana University’s visit on Sept. 5; he has his eyes on the IU Kelley School of Business.

“I saw this as a great opportunity to get more familiar with a school that I’m very interested in,” Nair said. “It’s harder to make time for actual [in-person] visits as school becomes harder, so these visits really help.”

This particular visit started with an informational presentation about IU, followed by a Q&A session. Nair said he gained valuable information such as which extracurriculars are valued in IU’s admissions process..

“It definitely helped me gain more knowledge, as I could ask all my questions directly to an admissions officer in person,” Nair said. “Overall, I think these types of programs are really helpful because there is no real traveling or expenses needed to gather knowledge about colleges for your future.”