BY NICHOLAS BRANDT

Representatives from local colleges such as UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara hosted informational meetings throughout the week of Sep 24 to provide students with an opportunity to learn more about college and the requirements needed to attend one. The meetings took place during the school day in the College Access Center in room B-1 where a representative from a college would talk to students that signed up for the visits.

Those who attended the meetings learned about majors, financial aid, extracurricular activities, student life, and more. They were also allowed to ask any questions they had to the representatives, receiving an opportunity to get answers from an expert.

“I found the college representative to be very informative. I learned a lot of new things and it made me realize that I need to think a lot more about my plans further and research more,” senior Liem Chung said.

Chung attended the UC San Diego college representative’s presentation and was given a pamphlet filled with information about the college’s programs as well as some facts about admission. While the visit was critical for many students to grasp the experience of college, college advisor Karina Callejas recommends that students try to visit college campuses in person and observe the atmosphere for themselves.

“The pros to college visits would involve creating awareness. There are a lot of students on this campus that probably don’t even know what college is like, what college is about, the requirements to apply, and more. When they hear someone actually talk about everything you can do in college beyond just taking classes, I think that’s helpful for them to know,” college advisor Karina Callejas said.

The next college visit is hosted by a representative for the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and is scheduled for Oct 2 at 10 a.m. Although there are no visits scheduled soon after this date, there are more planned visits in late October and early November for students to take advantage of.

“I encourage students to come. Even if they don’t think that college is for them, it really helps to hear about it and talk to someone who knows about it: like us. The whole reason we’re here is because we loved our college experience so much and we want to provide students the opportunity to at least consider college as an option,” Callejas said.