Special thanks to DJ Waldow, former guest on #CampusChat, for telling his First College Visit Story about traveling his road to college. From his first college visit to applying early decision to what happened next -- there's nothing quite like being on the road to college.
The following excerpt is printed with permission from Handshake 2.0. where the story first appeared.
Road Tripping College Firsts
I grew up in Rochester, NY. Everyone in my immediate family had attended college so there was never a question as to what I was doing after high school. I'll never forget my first college visit. I can't recall why, but I was determined to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I actually knew very little about it other than it was in the state of North Carolina and had a good basketball team. That's it.
Continue reading at: Road Tripping College Firsts - Handshake 2.0.
Alexis Avila: A Microcosm of the World At LargeFrom Alexis Avila for First College Visit, a series of first college visit stories by business professionals sponsored by SmartCollegeVisit.
When I was seven, my father transplanted our whole family from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Brookline, Massachusetts. After eleven years of learning the Boston accent and New England way of life, I decided to return to my roots and visit the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
read more at www.handshake20.com
Choosing a College: When Only One Answer Will DoFootball - The Only Answer
From Evan Silverman for First College Visit, a series of first college visit stories by business professionals sponsored by SmartCollegeVisit. Silverman (@WilliamPaid) was recently a featured guest on SmartCollegeVisit's #CampusChat:
read more via www.handshake20.com
First College Visit Stories by Business ProfessionalsWhen SmartCollegeVisit launched in November, 2009, we kicked things off by sponsoring a series of college visit stories by business professionals. We discovered what we hoped would be true -- that for some, the memory of the first time they set foot on the campus of the school that would become their alma mater would become one those defining moments in their personal journeys from the youth to adulthood.
We were delighted to discover that many of those storytellers are now parents who are either currently involved in visiting colleges with their own teens, or have strong memories of college visit days with their own children from the not-too-distant past. Either way, we found all of the stories were beautifully written and moving and we wanted to make sure SmartCollegeVisit readers have access to them.
Here's the list of the First College Visit stories as they appeared on Handshake 2.0 in reverse order. Click on the title link to go to the full text of each article.
- Where I Decided My Future by Thomas Becher, president of tba, The Becher Agency (Northwestern University)
- This Interview Was a Discussion by Shakun Mago, Assistant Professor of Economics (University of Richmond)
- A Microcosm of the World At Large by Alexis Avila, Director of Prepped and Polished: Tutoring, College Counseling, Test Prep (University of Michigan - Ann Arbor)
- The Wheat Fields Were Amber Waves of Grain by Steven Tarr, Adjunct Professor of Business at Washington State University and President of Columbia-Capstone LLC and Steve Tarr Consulting LLC (University of Washington)
- A Pretty Nice Place by Wallace B. Newton Sr. (Wally) is an adjunct instructor of finance at Virginia Tech (Virginia Tech)
- No Reason To Look Any Place Else by Dan Smith, editor Valley Business FRONT (University of Tennessee)
- Crossing the Border Between Town Life and University Life by Anne Giles Clelland, founder/president Handshake Media, Inc. (Virginia Tech)
- Look Left and Right by Robert H. Giles, Jr., founder of Rural System, is a Virginia Tech Professor Emeritus (Virginia Tech)
- A Seller's Market by Dr. Manisha Singal, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech (University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Northwestern University)
- A Tale of Two Visitors by Tom Field, co-founder, Valley Business FRONT.
- Age Regression Via the College Tour by Robert Geller, executive vice president, Fusion PR (Boston University)
A Seller's Market
From Manisha Singal for First College Visit, a series of first college visit stories by business professionals sponsored by SmartCollegeVisit.
Would you believe it, but I never did have a college visit for myself!
In India, during my time, colleges chose you, and only if you had really high marks (GPA) and if you went there early enough to stand in line and get the right form filled up!
The reputation of the college was a good enough proxy for a "visit"...there was no recruiting and no incentives to attend....it was purely a seller's market. Nevertheless, I got admitted to St. Xavier's College in Bombay (Mumbai now) which was a feat and a source of considerable pride for my parents.
This story is the second post offering insight on the college visit experience written by people coming from countries outside of the U.S. All posts related to travel to the U.S. and college admissions for international students can be accessed by clicking on the word "International" in the category cloud in the sidebar.
Returning to your Roots on a College Visit Sometimes, a college visit is like a homecoming. This proved true for Alexis Avila on his college visit--a return to Ann Arbor, Michigan. His story appeared on Handshake 2.0 as part of the continuing series of First College Visit stories by business professionals. This series is sponsored by SmartCollegeVisit.
Read: A Microcosm of the World At Large by Alexis Avila
Alexis Avila is Founder, Director of Prepped and Polished: Tutoring, College Counseling, Test Prep, (formerly TUTORrific Academic Services), providing tutoring, college counseling, and test prep in the Boston, Massachusetts area.
