Going to a meeting for a college that you had no intentions of attending can be of little interest to anybody. First of all, why would you go if you had no interest in the school at all? At this point, seniors probably already know what colleges they are applying to, so is there really any point for students to attend these college meetings? The answer is yes, and here’s why. 

Most seniors applying to colleges usually end up with a lot of “reach” schools and not a lot of “target” schools on their list and as a result, during spring time when application statuses come out, these students are usually disappointed by the outcome and end up unsatisfied with the choices they have. Attending college meetings can help because it allows students to find “target” schools while earning scholarships they may not have gotten from any of their “reach” schools. 

Even though underclassmen are not applying to colleges yet, it can be beneficial for them to attend college meetings. By attending, underclassmen are able to learn about the college application process as well as finding a possible school to add onto their list of colleges in the future. There are over 3,000 4-year colleges in the U.S. alone, so students will be sure to be interested in at least one of these colleges. 

“There are so many gems out there that students just don’t know about,” said College & Career Counselor Ms. Amanda Fitts. 

Many past students have all gone to meetings of colleges that they had never heard of before, and after finding out about all the various programs the college offered, applied to them. 

“You just never know what could happen,” said Ms. Fitts. 

Other than attending college meetings to find out about new schools, students can just learn more about college in general. Students can find out about different programs or research opportunities at a college that may be offered at other colleges, allowing students to find schools that offer these programs. It does not specifically have to be the college that they attended the meeting for, but doing this allows them to find more schools to apply to.

Many students at AHS have all attended these meetings and found the experience to be very valuable. 

“Even though I didn’t know anything about the college in the meeting I was attending, I still discovered some programs I am interested in,” said senior Dylan Chang. 

“The meeting allowed me to become much more comfortable familiarizing myself with the process of admission,” said senior Devon Wong. 

Attending these college meetings will not only help in deciding what college you want to attend in the future, but will also give plentiful information about the college application process. Whether you are a senior, junior, or even a sophomore or freshman, attending one of these sessions will be sure to help!

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