College visits affected by COVID-19
Visiting colleges has been more of a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior Keaghan Otto visited Arizona State University during spring break just as states started to close. Luckily enough, she was still able to have a tour of the campus. However, she has been planning to go to the University of Kentucky for a few months. They just haven’t been open for tours lately. Otto says she will likely go down in the next month or so even if it is for an unofficial tour.
One thing that many students are missing out on, mainly juniors and seniors, is college visits. Right now is one of the most popular times to go on college visits. Families usually go take a trip for a weekend and go on a tour, see a college football game, and explore the campus. However, most of that is on hold.
Some other people, like Otto, were lucky enough to go on tours before they were shut down. Or at least go with precautions during COVID-19.
MCHS has been having Zoom college visits almost everyday with many participating colleges. And. Ms. Heather Poulsen from the Academic Resource Center at Minooka has been sending emails out for students to sign up. She has said that many students have been attending and there are only a few that students haven’t done.
“During this crazy time, it is great that colleges are offering to do this to reach as many students as possible, and get them the information they need,” Poulsen said.
Poulsen also included that when MCHS returns to hybrid on Oct. 19 there will be one virtual visit per day, probably around 2 p.m. This way, any student that has been wanting to go on college visits but can’t because of COVID-19, now can.
Another student at MCHS, Jordanna Cortes, has been quite lucky with her college visits this year. During quarantine she was still able to go on a few visits, including Auburn, Arizona State, and University of Central Florida. All have had strict guidelines like 6 feet apart and masks at all time; however, they still felt more like normal for students. Cortes says she was given campus maps, a full tour, and all the information she would need as an incoming freshman.
