‘Tis the season for college visits. It’s crunch time for seniors who want to decide which colleges they want to apply to. Therefore, Promise Corps at West Philly High School is doing its best to expose students to colleges as much as possible. Thus far we have gone on a trip of our own to St. Joe’s University, and we have supported the Netter Center in bringing students to the open house at Lincoln University.
Our goal has been, and will continue to be, showing the students as intricate a picture of college life as possible. This means engaging them with aspects of the school they wouldn’t get from only a campus tour. At St. Joe’s we were able to have lunch provided to all students and chaperones; students were able to see how much better the food at colleges can be, and get a sense of the busy daily schedule of college students. On top of that, two professors and four current undergraduate students were kind enough to sit down and chat with the students about what they can expect from both the social and academic arenas of college life while we enjoyed lunch. This was arguably the most impactful portion of the trip, because students got the inside scoop on applying to college, staying on top of homework and extra-curricular activities, and of course the social elements of living on campus. Suffice to say, many myths were dispelled, and a lot of questions were answered appropriately and kindly.
Promise Corps members from West (and Sayre) were also able to help the Netter Center chaperone a large group of students at the Lincoln University open house. This event was much louder, as the university hosted hundreds of students in one day. Promise Corps students heard all about life at Lincoln, got tours from current students, and got to witness a lively college pep rally.
We’re very proud to have been able to help students experience both of these campuses. We strive to view each and every student as an individual, and work with them to find the post-secondary option that is ideal for them. Different students had different responses to the two experiences, but the constant was that they all enjoyed it more than being in class!
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