By Allison May and Rabita Aziz (October 31, 2003)

Each year the guidance department facilitates numerous college visits to Mason’s campus. Lasso Online explored how these visits benefit seniors looking for a college that’s right for them. 

"It’s a good way for colleges to come to us, and a good deal for students who don’t get a chance to visit them, especially if they’re farther away. They can get a lot of great information directly from a college admission representative," said college specialist Kristen Kurowski about the many visits by college reps to the George Mason campus.
 

Approximately 60 colleges will be visiting George Mason this year, most of them in the fall, because the college representatives are needed on campus for the admissions process after November. These officers have a sense of what their future students will be like and they have a chance to find out about high school programs as well.  The college visits are approximately 30 to 45 minutes long. The number of students who attend vary according to the school. For example, Virginia Tech, one of the most popular schools for Masonites, had a turnout of 30 students, mostly seniors. Some of the more unknown schools, such as Franklin and Marshall of Pennsylvania, had a turnout of two students.

Senior Zach Schwind, right, listens to the college  representative from Old Dominion University  during one of the many college visits set up by the  guidance department to assist students.  (Photo by Allison May)

College visits are beneficial not only for students, but for the colleges as well. The students ask many questions that not only help them, but the questions also assist the reps in learning what it is that students are interested in knowing. Many of the questions have to do specifically with certain majors. Ms. Kurowski has heard many questions about most majors, many having to do with the sciences or engineering, while questions about history and government majors are popular as well. Students also ask about the college itself, about social events and campus life. Students also ask about financial aid and scholarship opportunities, as well as internships. 

By far, when it comes to college visits, students are more interested in state schools, although schools from all over the country come for these visits. Mason even gets college visits from reps from schools from other countries. There will be three college visits from Canada this year.  The university that will travel the farthest to visit Mason will be the University of British Columbia, Canada. 

Seniors this year will find it more difficult to get into college. "Most of the schools are competitive to get into. The admissions process is becoming more and more difficult every year, making it harder to predict which students will be accepted," Ms. Kurowski explained. This change is due to the increasing number of seniors all across the country applying to college. Analysts have speculated that this increase in the number of seniors will continue until 2010. "We found some students that were not admitted into some schools last year, and probably would have been admitted a few years ago," Kurowski said.. 

"I’ve seen some students come to a college visit, not knowing very much about the school when they come, and by the end they’re excited enough to apply or visit the campus," Ms. Kurowski added. Although college visits are very helpful for both students and the college itself, Ms. Kurowski said that nothing beats or surpasses an actual visit to the college campus itself. This is because everything looks great on paper, but it’s not until the student goes to the campus itself to get a sense of the college’s "personality," that the student can get a good sense of whether the school will be a good fit for them. "The personality is the number one factor in terms of deciding to apply or attend," Kurowski explained. 

Here are some examples of schools that have visited or will be visiting George Mason this year: 

Mary Baldwin College
Princeton University
Radford University
Boston College
Roanoke College
The George Washington University
Grinnell College
Christopher Newport University
Pitzer College
Lynchburg College
University of the Arts
The College of Wooster
Shepherd College
The Ohio State University
Johnson and Wales University