It's College Tour Season Part 1

First let me start this off by saying that in addition to teaching a creative writing course, I also teach a college readiness class called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). Last week proved to be pretty productive for my AVID class. We knocked out 2 out of the 3 college tours we had set for this quarter. We've been talking about college all year, and I've been preparing them for one component of the college admissions process by having them work on electronic portfolios using Google sites. They've added their autobiographic sketches, resumes, pictures, and outline for their 5 year plan to their portfolios.

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