Dianha Ortega-Ehreth

YLA Executive Director

Feb. 18, 2015

On the Road to College

workshop series:

• MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU

CAN DO when selecting a college

• See it for yourself vs. glossy brochure

• Feel secure in your investment –

would you buy a car without test

driving it?

• Parents and students go together!

• Narrow down your choices based on your preferences:

• Big or small campus

• Location

• Academic majors

• Campus activities: sports, theater, music, etc..

• Cost

• Diversity

• Prestige

• …what else is important to you?

RESEARCH YOUR TOP SCHOOLS! Go to their web sites!

• Start sophomore year of high school, pick a place on

your way to / from family vacation.

• BEST YEAR: High school junior

• COLLEGE CAMPUS OPEN HOUSE dates

• PRO: Organized group tours and presentations

• CON: Large crowds, less individual attention, you don’t get to pick

the date

• Any weekday during the school year

• Summer – maybe

• When not to go: holiday breaks

• High School seniors get 2 days to visit colleges

• OPEN HOUSE – sign up, either online or

call the college directly

• Call Admissions Office to request a tour –

may be personal or a group

•Ask if they have a translator (if you need

one)

• High School seniors get 2 days to visit

colleges

Admissions Office purpose:

• To provide you with information about their college or university

• To recruit you!

• They will organize a schedule for you:

• Meet with faculty, financial aid staff, campus students

• Sit in a college class for a morning

• See the residence halls, computer labs

• Eat lunch in the campus cafeteria

• Some even have you stay overnight in a residence hall with a current student!

• FREE!!!

• What excited you the most?

• Could you see yourself spending 2-4 years there?

• What didn’t you like? Why? Is it a deal breaker?

• Do they have what you want?

• What is unique about this place that I will not find at any other school?

• Consider the town / city environment –security, groceries, public transportation, social life, visits home

INVESTMENT

• Money

• TIME

• Future opportunities – Did you swing by their Placement

Office? Pick up a campus newspaper or alumni

magazine – what are their graduates up to?

Strong connection to a place is helpful –

especially if you change your major, and

odds are YOU WILL.

• Talk with other students and parents of

students who go to that school

• Online tours vs. self-guided tour vs. actual

campus tour

• Valuable experience for the whole family!

• Take notes to help you compare your top

college choices (hand out)

• Elgin Community College - March 3 - Senior Day

• Illinois State University – March 30 – Open House

• Judson University – March 27 – Preview Day

• Northern Illinois University - April 3 - Open House

• Roosevelt University – February 21 - Junior and Senior

Visit Day

• University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign – April 2 –

Orange and Blue Day

• Western Illinois University - April 11 - Open House

All dates are 2015. Visit the university’s website for more

information or to register for a visit.