Many colleges have visited Park over the past couple of weeks, offering students a chance to meet representatives from schools they are interested in. Senior Ruby Stillman said she wanted to meet with a college representative so she could learn more about the school.

“I decided to visit a college representative, because I thought it would be a really good opportunity to get to know the school,” Stillman said. “I got to ask the questions I wanted and got to know the people who are ultimately on admissions and may be reading my application.”

Park office assistant Cheryl Brody sets up the visits and said meeting with a college representative can be beneficial for students looking at a specific school.

“(The visit is) an opportunity for juniors and seniors to have a face to face meeting with the representative that may be making the decision for them to be (admitted) to that college,” Brody said. “It’s very important for (the students) to meet that person and have an opportunity to ask all their questions and find out more about the schools they may be interested in.”

Stillman said meeting with a representative is a good way to get to know the school better if someone can’t visit the campus.

“I met with Brandeis when they came here, because I’m interested in that school,” Stillman said, “it’s a good way to get to know them if you can’t see the actual school.”

According to Brody, most visits consist of representatives talking to students about the school in general and answering students’ questions.

“(The representatives) meet with as many as one student to 15 to 20 kids that are interested in that school. The reps first talk about the general information and then the students often have specific questions like ‘do you have my major?’” Brody said.

Visits can help students narrow down which school is right for them by learning specific information, like school size and majors offered.

“If (the students) get a good feeling about what they hear, (such as hearing) the numbers and the majors, it helps them narrow their schools,”  Brody said.

Stillman said she recommends these visits to any student looking to learn more about any size or location of school.

“It’s a great opportunity, they come to our school and there is a wide array of schools that come,” Stillman said. “There are some Minnesota schools but also schools from all around the United states.”

The next college visiting is Grinnell College at 10:10 a.m., Oct. 9. For a full list of visiting colleges, click here.