As college application season comes around, juniors and seniors’ inboxes become flooded with emails from College Counselor Dina Cunha, notifying them of upcoming visits by many college representatives from all over the U.S.

Many reps come bearing brochures, flyers, and other college swag with information about their schools. These visits offer a more personal way for students to hear about their programs and to ask questions about the campuses that might not be so easily answered by browsing their website.

“Typically, the rep that comes to our campus is assigned to our territory and are often either the only person evaluating the student’s application or part of the committee that evaluates for this territory,” says Cunha. “Thus, it is beneficial to get to these reps and get on their radar.”

Each rep comes with a wealth of information about what their school has to offer a prospective student, but they are always willing to tailor the information that they present to what the attendees are specifically interested in.

For instance, when the crowd of 7 to 10 students leans more towards asking questions regarding Santa Clara University’s participation in an engineering challenge or Chapman University’s unique study abroad opportunities, the representative’s ability to quickly speak about those topics comes in handy.

Visits offer an excellent chance for juniors to get a better idea of what to look for in schools as they slowly begin their adventure into the college application process.  These visits can be a tool to craft a more refined list of colleges to visit, rather than spending money and time roaming around a campus that might be too big or too small for their liking.

The visits also give seniors a chance to ask questions pertaining either to their decision to apply or about programs within the school that they want to participate in.

In addition, “Reps can also see if a student is a good fit for their college by meeting and talking with them,” says Cunha.

Senior Maggie Donaho says, “It is intimidating to be in a room with someone who may be reading my application.”

College meetings can last up to an hour and are scheduled throughout the school day to maximize the amount of schools that can visit NDB.

Sometimes, students miss classes to attend these meetings.  They are expected to fill out certain forms and get their teachers’ permissions at least two days in advance.

College visits have the potential to be an advantageous tool in helping students to navigate through the seemingly vast and never-ending forest of information about colleges. Rather than mindlessly gathering information from family, friends, or online resources, attend a college visit to set yourself up for the most successful future there is to have after graduating from NDB.