This past Friday was our first senior day for the spring semester, and I was impressed with the attendance. Campus visits are very important to the selection process for any student's desire for higher learning. Take it from someone with experience, or inexperience you could say. I never took a campus visit. Bad idea. These visits allow you to compare every school you are looking at; this is the time when each university is allowed to "strut their stuff." Instead, I found out where all of my friends were planning to go and said, "Okay, that sounds good enough for me!" For my freshman year, I attended Wichita State University. Wichita State is an excellent school with plenty of opportunities for any student. However, if I would have done my research, I would have discovered that while WSU is a great school, it wasn't the school for me.

My graduating class (from high school) was made up of about 138 students. I grew up with 3/4 of those students, attending grades K-12 together. My college experience would need to be a little more personal because that is the kind of person I am. Upon arriving at Newman, I knew it was the right "fit" for me. The class sizes vary depending how far into your degree you are, and the professors have the ability (and the desire) to get to know their students. If I had used my campus visits wisely, I may have discovered this from the beginning. So my advice to high school seniors (and juniors) is do your research. Finding the right college is an important part of your learning experience. Some need a bigger school with crazy class listings while others are more interested in a smaller, more personal experience. Whatever your preference be, I encourage you to take the time to find which suits you best!

Labels: "class sizes", "high school", "Senior Day", campus, personal, semester, spring, visits