One assignment I added when we got closer to touring the colleges was the college profile. They had to choose 3 colleges they wanted to attend and give me information on admission requirements, costs, scholarships/financial aid, available housing, student organizations on campus, and course requirements for their chosen major. This had a tremendous impact on how they viewed the college tours. One, they knew what to look for and to ask the tour guide, and two, they asked more detailed questions. Last year, when I took my students to Georgetown and Howard, they asked questions like, "What dining selections are available?" This year they asked, "What are the meal plan options and how much does each one cost?"
So the first campus we toured was Georgetown's campus. We went down to Georgetown and walked through the neighborhood, ate lunch at the restaurants on M and relaxed by the riverfront before we went to campus. This way, students considering this university had a chance to see the neighborhood they probably would be frequenting and the campus.
Walking through the neighborhood.
Playing Frisbee by the riverfront
By the riverfront..I wanted to take them on a riverboat cruise to see the monuments, but our grant money was way too specific for that :-(
touring the campus
touring the campus
Excellent work here! The neighborhood area looks very familiar, but I've never been to Georgetown and now that I think about it we were in South Carolina.
ReplyDeleteWhat impresses me is the amount of energy and dedication it takes to pull this off, and the realization that you're providing a invaluable service to the students that they desperately need today. I never had this type of pre-college experience, but then again I'm from a different generation and even though we had those opportunities, we functioned differently and sought these things out on our own.
Keep up the excellent work with your students and with this site!