Making the College Connections

Plainfield North High School has been hosting mini college rep visits during second or third hour, on either Tuesdays or Thursdays through the months of September and October in the media center. Along with this, they are advertising the College Fair at Joliet Junior College at 6 p.m. on Oct. 14. 

The college rep visits include eight representatives every week for students to ask questions, grab pamphlets, learn more about different college admission processes, and discover other specific details about the different schools. It is a great opportunity for juniors and seniors wanting to open their horizons to different post-high school opportunities. 

Elaina Kalantzis, college and career counselor at Plainfield North, explained that “It’s a great opportunity for juniors and seniors to expose themselves to different schools. Some are private, some are public, some are large, some are small, or in and out of state, so it’s a variety.” 

If you combine both the September and October visits, students will get the chance to see 64 different schools. The early exposure for juniors is highly beneficial. 

Many students their junior year are starting to look into different schools, majors, and what their preferences are. These visits help them form an idea and start making plans for the future. 

Junior Elsie Steinbrenner exemplified that the college fairs, “Help me look into what I want to do for college, where I want to go. It gives me an idea of what to expect when I become a senior, and what I want to know, or what I need to know.” 

The visits are not just meant for juniors. For seniors, it gives them useful information for their application process and expectations for the schools they are actively looking for. 

“It’s a chance for them to connect with the schools they are applying to. A lot of the seniors that are showing up are seniors who have these schools on their application list or have already submitted,” clarified Kalantzis. 

Other than the rep visits at North, Joliet Junior College hosts their own college fair with over 140 reps that are present on Oct. 14. This is a chance for parents to meet with the reps, gain information, or, if students did not want to miss class for a rep visit at North, they can experience all of the colleges in one night. 

Steinbrenner noted, “I’m hoping that I can see a lot more schools because even though there’s a lot of schools that come here, it’s very limited.” 

Other aspects of the college fair include financial aid presentations. A huge factor in deciding the best college can be a student’s financial situation. This is a great opportunity for parents to grasp the information that students are getting from school, online, and gain additional resources. 

Kalantzis explained that “If mom has questions or you want to go to the financial aid presentation, then I would go.” 

Continuing on, part of the rep visits includes a panel discussion with all of the speakers. Each will present information on cost, student-teacher ratios in class, school size, athletics, tests procedures,  and majors. Afterwards, Kalantzis will pose a question or two to have the panel answer. 

The questions the panel answers from Kalantzis include things such as, what advice would you give junior or seniors, what are colleges looking for, what are they not looking for, or what mistakes do students make when submitting. 

Steinbrenner went on to say that “They answer all the questions you have; they give you more necessities that you might need as well.” 

The college fair and the college representative visits are a great way for juniors and seniors to acclimate themselves in the college admissions process, gain information and insight, or it can help start their search for the right college. 

“It’s not a requirement, but every student who attends a rep visits or attends a college fair feels so much more prepared. Their questions are answered, they feel more connected, they feel more excited. I think it’s a great chance for students to feel more comfortable about the college operation process,” stated Kalantzis.