While many colleges have great websites that include virtual tours of the campus, they do not substitute face to face interaction while school is in session. You have an opportunity to interview students on their way to class and get a feel for the atmosphere. The more prepared you are before you go can also determine how successful your experience will be. Here are a few pointers for students and educators interested.
Be sure to open a few helpful links!
Watch these videos about taking a college tour and getting ready...
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| McNair Travel Club stop by Kennedy Space Center during College Tour |
22 comments:
Hello. I think that this blog will be a great forum for young people who are interested or wants to be introduced to world travels and mathematics. Keep up the good work!
As a student in my Junior year of high school i am going to college soon. Having been on multiples tours of colleges. One thing that i can say is that seeing and receiving first hand experience really influenced my decision concerning college. So that its's not just a good learning environment also comfortable for me.
Hello,my name is Christopher Burkes and as a member of Travel Club i can say it is a great program. For young adults to see and to do different things that most young people of my age cant do. For example,for spring break me and the other member and our instructor Mrs.Hastie will be attending a college tour trip.Also when we get at of school for summer break we will be going to Costa Rica.That is my input of the Travel Club
With the brief time I was at the homeless shelter I realized something that did not sit too well with me at all. Some the employees’ attitudes towards the homeless people in need were unpleasant! To be truthful it wasn’t nice at all because of their tones towards them. So I went around and started to talk to some of the people that were there to see how they felt about the place and the employees. Some of the responses were that they mistreat most of them like this on a regular basis. So with that being said I actually got a firsthand look at what the people were talking about when one of the employees, started kicking people out in a disrespectful way. And that did not sit too well with me at all so in the content of seeing that I really wanted to bring this problem to their C.E.O or supervisor attention and see what they have to say on this matter. Also, while I was there I also had the opportunity to speak with some the kids and teenagers to see if their holiday break was going good and also speak about some of their goals and ambitions in life. In spite of the atmosphere, some of the responses I got were wonderful.
If I go back I would ask the C.E.O to ask the employees to be more helpful before they kick people out. Maybe they encourage them to seek employment.
On last Thursday Me,one other Travel Club member and Mrs. Hastie investigated on how much we could be making scooping up poop at the horse stables and we calculated that it was 1.48. Now, compare a small bag with a large will barrel. We could be making a killing Travel Club!!!.
Using Spring Break to visit colleges & universities in Washington D.C, Baltimore, MD, Hampton, VA has been a great experience! The students hear from current students, a few professors, and get a chance to meet important people who may determine if their application gets a thorough glance. They get to see how people interact, and have all sorts of questions answered. For example, Bowie State has 6,000 students where 5,000 are commuters. Although the school was a very friendly environment, I am concerned about on campus life for out of state students. Some schools emphasized the extra-curricular activities more than academics like Morgan State with a graduation rate of 34%. “You don’t want to take night classes because you’re going to miss the parties,” said one Morgan State ambassador. I would have preferred her advising the students to decide whether they think better in the morning or evening instead of the basis of your schedule surrounding step shows and the promenade for fashion shows. She could have talked about the student to teacher ratio and how that can impact your education…
I noticed every school emphasized getting to know your professors during their office hours and taking advantage of the many resources available. For example, state of the art libraries, labs in the dorm for tutorial, study hall, computer lab, and trained staff to critique your papers. There were opportunities for students with special needs, but they have to seek help just like other students. High school students didn’t seem that impressed with having an unpaid internship until they were made aware of the types of careers available in today’s market and the potential of having a lucrative career waiting on them to graduate.
Honestly, some students just wanted a trip for the break, but there are a few who are soaking up the information and came prepared with their questions and copies of their transcripts available. Whether these kids decide to attend a 2 or 4 year institution is up to them. This experience is an eye opener and allows them to enhance their future!
I am pleased to have experienced this college road trip at the northerner Historical Black Colleges. Each college helped me realize exactly what it was that I was looking for in a college.
All the excessive walking needed to get to class at Howard University and Virginia State University helped me realize that I would prefer to be at a small school. The happy mood swirling around Norfolk State University and Virginia State University helped me realize that the environment you put yourself in also matters to an individual dramatically. Finally thanks to Virginia Union University, I decided that I would prefer to go to a school that offers the full setting of my field so that I won’t be wasting money.
All in all, these many great selections have led me to put my faith in Bowie University. It is a small school, the environment is beautiful, the atmosphere is jubilant and the offer my field of Theatre arts as both a major and minor. Perhaps I will find more along the way of my Sr. year that suits my need as far as a college needs, but as far as the colleges that we have toured so far, Bowie is the one that best suites me.
I really enjoyed going on this trip. I had the opportunity to experience various different aspects of college campuses. Being from Atlanta, Georgia, it was great being able to travel further North to see what other colleges had to offer. Before going on this trip I had no idea where I wanted to go for college. After going on the college tour I had more options of colleges I would like to attend such as Howard University, Morgan State University, and Norfolk State University.
One of the most important things I learned going on this college tour was all the different ways students can receive financial aid. You can always look on the college website to see what types of scholarships are offered, however I learned so much about specific scholarships that I could obtain due to my GPA, or even the major I would like to pursue, which is Mass Communications.
We were also able to enjoy some of the fun aspects of Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland. While we were in DC, we had a chance to see the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Monument, and the new statue of Martin Luther King. Also, in Virginia we had a chance to attend Bush Gardens and have some fun.
-Alexsis Butler
This week I have learned that most of the universities/colleges we have visited had my major, which was business. One of the colleges, Virginia union university had a tunnel to the Underground Railroad. Instead of utilizing it, the university thought it would be a good idea to lock it up like a caged animal. When asked why they didn’t have it out open for the world to see, the student ambassadors thought they would end the conversation by saying that it was so important they had to keep it locked away. That answer to my question had me thinking that it was a more serious answer that they weren’t telling the tour group. Unfortunately, I had my doubts that it was an actual passage to the Underground Railroad, but my piers finally got the students ambassadors to give in and take us to it.
When we got there, we found a blue old door that supposedly housed the sacred Underground Railroad. Fortunately for them, the door had a lock on it, which looked as if it had been broken into many times. My personal belief is that since the university is small and unattractive, they used the Underground Railroad as an excuse to draw attention to themselves. The universities I thought seemed most fit for me was Norfolk University, and or Virginia State University. Those certain colleges had my major, which is business, and looked as if it would actually challenge me mentally.
Both universities business programs were partnered with fortune 500 companies, and helped the student with internships. I basically want to think you for giving me the opportunity to visit my future universities and states that I have never been to. This has been a wonderful trip, and a great experience for me.
I am very grateful for being able to experience this HBCU Spring Break tour with Five Star Youth Alliance. A couple months ago, I never even knew what a HBCU was. And also a couple of months ago, I never even knew anything about HBCU. I never thought in that I would actually attend a HBCU. My mother attended a HBCU and always wanted me to attend a one also, but I never really took it serious and really didn’t want to go to one. I didn’t know anything about them and was sure I wasn’t going to one. I heard of the main ones like Hampton, Howard, and Famu and I kind of wanted to go there, but I still wanted to go to a school like University of Missouri or Michigan State over the HBCU’s. I am hope to apply for Virginia State or Norfolk State next year.
Hello my name is Ashley Vincent and I went on one of the college tours I would recommend that students coming straight out of the 11th grade go on one because you have alot of fun n you learn alot of new things .It helps you decide on the schools you may want to attend and give many other choices to choose from so go for it.
Kayla Mohale
I really enjoyed my time on the 5 Star Youth Alliance college road trip. This trip was a great way for me to experience HBCU in a mindset of my own. I was able to visit Morgan State University; which I actually fell in love with the school. Morgan State had a really good social aspect to me where I can see myself going there and having and enjoyable time. We were able to explore Washington DC, Baltimore and Virginia, which we were able to go to Busch Gardens.
My other schools I enjoyed on the college tour were Howard University and Norfolk. This college tour was a good way for me to realize that HBCU is as good as a normal university. These colleges had a great way of showing me the daily life of going to an HBCCU. When we visited Howard University I was able to talk to them about different scholarships and the benefits of attending the school of business. Norfolk University helped me want to attend the school because of the Greek life and the involvement they had in the school.
I think this trip is a good way to help students be able to go on college tours and help students be more prepared about colleges. Thank you again for letting me have the opportunity to go on this trip and enjoy my time.
Thanks to the HBCU College tour with 5 Star Youth Alliance, I now am strongly considering attending an HBCU even though initially I had no intent on going to one. The campuses were nice and there a strong sense of family among faculty and peers on every campus which is a nice thing to have
Martrick I think you should let the President of Virginia Union know how you feel! You are a change agent and may offer ideas that have not been considered. I was also disappointed with the lack of school pride, lack of concern to presentation for potential students, and the attire of the student ambassadors.
I understand why you enjoyed your visit to Norfolk State University and Virginia State University. The student ambassadors were very friendly, offered one-on-one customer service, were very knowledgeable, and gave so many pointers in the direction of becoming a successful college student no matter the degree. Although the campus life seemed fun, they stressed the importance of maintaining focus and what good grades can do to earn money for scholarships.
Martrick, let me know if you would like to do research on the Underground Railroad as it relates to Virginia Union. That might be a great opportunity for you to improve a community.
I was thrilled to see you behind the scenes at Bowie State University's Fine Arts Department! Not everyone has that opportunity to make direct connections with the person who may directly affect their chance of being accepted or receiving a scholarship. Over 80% of the students live off campus and thus commute to Bowie so please consider the out of state cost as well. Also find time to send them a thank you letter.
During the 5 Star Youth Alliance/McNair Travel Club trip this spring break tour I had an amazing experience viewing of all the Historically Black Colleges & Universities in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia. The colleges and universities that we attended were Bowie, Howard, Morgan, Coppin, Elizabeth City, Virginia State, Virginia Union, and Norfolk State Universities. The school that I thought would fit me better for environment and class type would be Bowie and Norfolk State University. My plans are to major in Biology and I enjoyed visiting the classrooms also.
What I first noticed is that when we arrived at Bowie that the environment seemed really calm and friendly, the type of environment which a student can learn and focus on their work. The same with Norfolk the campus is semi small the class ratio is about 20:1. I can work with that since it is similar to the way my classes are now. At Norfolk I had the opportunity to split off with the same group of people that was interested in the same field I was looking at. I had the opportunity to go into the class room and actually look at what students do in the class room. I found to be very interesting, new, and gave me an overwhelming since that I can’t wait until it is my turn to come to college and experience these types of things. Also another thing is how the teachers are interactive with the students whether it’s helping them in class or just having a civilized conversation about something. I also like that tutors are put in place to help students if necessary to give the little extra push and/or support if needed which is very helpful. Also there are a lot of internship programs that the schools have to help you out with experience in your field.
I would just like to say thank you to Ms. Hastie & the McNair Travel Club for all that you have done to put into this trip and allowing us to view these colleges. As a junior I have some insight on what I want to do and where I want to go when I graduate from high school. This trip is very helpful and I’m looking forward to many more….like going to Costa Rica in June ;)
Devarus Cotton
. While on the 5 Star Youth Alliance H.B.C.U tour with the McNair Travel Club, I came across some outstanding colleges like Bowie State University who had an outstanding Performing Arts school. Bowie was small compared to Morgan State University which had an outstanding state of the art stock broker system. The colleges that we toured were all good choices to choose from whether it is for their class sizes, their Greek life, their academics, or their graduation rate. The two HBCU’s I would recommend would be Virginia Union and Norfolk State University.
. The reason why I recommended Virginia Union is because of the historical back ground and how two of its dorms and their church were built on top of the tunnels that were used to lead slaves to freedom in the Underground Railroad. Now for all of you history majors this would be the perfect University for you. Norfolk State University doesn’t have a historical background like Virginia Union but I sat down one on one with one of the history professors and he gave me a run down on what Norfolk history program has to offer the students. So if you are looking for an H.B.C.U in the Virginia area these are two Universities you should consider.
. I learned a lot in a short time and had fun at the same time!
Michael Corley
. I enjoyed the Open House at Tuskegee University this past weekend! The band sounded great with lots of energy & the football team won 49 to 10 over Fort Valley. The college students were great hosts as they talked to my students one-on-one answering questions and enlightening them about their experience. There was so much information available that you just had to get started somewhere.
. The gym was elbow room only with kids from everywhere representing their respectful towns. The performances of the organizations added a lot of flavor and you could feel the positive energy in the room as they chanted and showed school spirit.
Kudos to Tuskegee!!!
. The campus of Auburn was very nice as well! Cam Newton & Bo Jackson statues look great. I never knew that John Heisman coached at Auburn & is noted for creating the forward pass in football along with many of the official rules.
PS: I appreciate Fountain of Hope for arranging this trip & allowing McNair Travel Club to participate. I hope the 24 students that went will share their experience & are more prepared for college!
. Does anyone know of another Open House coming up? Is there another college you would like to visit?
I enjoyed Tuskegee University this past weekend.It also open my eye to go to collage at black Univ. Collage and play football
Im Dietrick Davis and being a Senior at McNair High School I've experiened alot with the travel club I am also looking for more activities and gatherings from the club
My visit to Tuskegee University was good! They have a lot of school spirit, and a lot of their programs are really great. Tuskegee's band is great too! I had so much fun at the football game.
Minerva Perry
The fieldtrip was awsome! I had alot of fun learning about the life of Elephants and how they survive in their real habitats. I enjoyed learning about cultures be for my time. the IMax Movie we watched gave me a change to see the real nature side of our animals here on earth.! I just appriciate you all for having us on the trip. #Chris :)
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