Students meet with college representatives, but virtually

From Issue 2

Students+gather+in+the+college+counseling+office+to+interact+with+a+representative+from+the+University+of+Alabama.+

Lily Flowers

Students gather in the college counseling office to interact with a representative from the University of Alabama.

Since the pandemic, there has been restricted travel around the country for college representatives. With the restrictions from Prep, Ms. Malika Lindsay and Mr. Hunter Upchurch, directors of the school’s college counseling office, have looked towards virtual meetings with colleges. 

Many colleges have decided to connect with juniors and seniors by virtually visiting through Zoom. Each meeting lasts about fifteen to twenty minutes where students have the chance to hear a little about the college. 

At Prep, there are several college visits per week. In the last month, colleges such as Vanderbilt, Belmont, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tulane, and Hamilton College have visited. The one positive outcome since the pandemic is schools that have never come to campus now have the opportunity virtually. Some new schools that virtually visited Prep were Elon University, High Point University, and Washington University.

There is another option called the evening programs that hones into six popular colleges within the region. This was a specific Prep program so students do not feel disconnected and can have direct access to the colleges. Mr. Upchurch said this program was created to “provide a clear time and place to connect directly with schools that are most popular in the community.” These colleges include Mississippi College, the University of Alabama, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Millsaps. 

If you are interested in visiting a college virtually at school, it will be in the daily announcements, the screens on campus, or naviance student. The more colleges you add to naviance student, the more emails and notifications you will receive about that specific school. Mr. Upchurch and Ms. Lindsay encourage students other than seniors to attend. The visits are welcome to any interested juniors and sophomores.

If you have any questions, you can contact Ms. Lindsay at [email protected]. and Mr. Upchurch at [email protected].