During September and October of every year, admissions officers from selective colleges travel to schools all over the country to meet with high school students.

In small groups, these representatives discuss topics such as the academic programs, campus life, financial aid, and admission procedures of their college, answering any questions the soon-to-be college freshmen may have.

“The reason I’m here is simple,” said a representative from Duke University, who came and spoke to Carlmont students this past Wednesday, Sept. 12. “I’m here to meet kids that hopefully I will be seeing around my campus one day. I have no hidden agenda, I’m just here to answer questions and help out kids who need a little direction.”

According to the College Board, there are six main reasons why students should attend meetings with college representatives:

1. Students have a chance to meet face-to-face with a representative in a familiar environment and ask specific questions.
2. Students can let the college representative know that they are seriously interested.
3. Students have a unique opportunity to make contact with a person who may be evaluating their application in the future.
4. The meeting provides students with a specific contact at the college to whom they can send questions.
5. Sometimes representatives, particularly ones from state universities, will give an early read on students’ transcripts, test scores and course selections during their visits. This helps students assess their fit at that institution and figure out what they can do to improve their chances of getting in.
6. It’s an opportunity to bring to attention a college that the student may not have considered before.

This past week, three different college representatives have visited the Carlmont campus, and there are many more scheduled to come and speak to students.

“I thought that the rep from [Duke University] was so helpful,” said senior Josh Yolland. “I had so many questions and he answered all of them and was really friendly. He made me rethink a lot about where I want to apply and the benefits of each college that I am considering.”

Senior Natasha Stergiou agreed with Yolland. After the meeting she attended, she said that she “had never really considered [University of Colorado, Boulder] before, but now that I’ve learned so much more about it, I think it’s one of my top choices!”

All that a student must do to attend these meetings is go to the College Center at the scheduled time of the representative’s visit and write down their ID number on the sign-in sheet. From there, they will automatically be excused from class.

To find more information on college representatives visits, including a schedule of which college representatives are coming on what days, a student should go under the “college tab” on the Naviance website.