The First Steps To College

Gallery: The Junior Class Meet College Admissions Officers and Learn What They Look for in a College Application

Getting Settled: When students arrive at 8:30 a.m., they are given important folders to hold onto. There are boxes of snacks available for students to choose from before they separate into their designated groups for the activity.

Sorting Papers: Students find the files of three mock applicants in their folders applying to a fake college. Acting as admissions officers, they must choose one applicant after a thorough review. They are given an hour and a half to make their decision.

Clear Choice: Lauren Ferraro is informing her peer, Nidhi Ponnaganti, on why she believes the third applicant should be accepted.

A Helping Hand: Each group is led by an actual admissions officer from different colleges. This group is led by Mark Fox from Mercer University. To make an informed decision, students can ask them questions and learn more about what colleges look for in applicants.

Democracy In Action: The group has an almost unanimous decision to admit the third student to their fake college. Then, it is time to head back to Langford Hall to see what the other groups had decided on.

Sharing Opinions: Each group has two student leaders. These leaders present their group’s final decision and reasoning. Many students are surprised to see that there were different responses from each group.

Taking The Mic: College counselor Lauren Furman speaks to the students about what to expect from college admissions. She helped organize and run this junior retreat.

Speaking Up: Jediah Stewart explains why his group selected the second student as the best choice, while another group argues the third one was more qualified.

The Minority Opinion: The University of Florida admissions officer explains why she would choose student two in a real admissions scenario, giving students valuable insight into how admissions officers evaluate applicants.

The Majority Opinion: The Hampden-Sydney College admissions officer explains that she would admit the first student, saying that he is the most qualified. Another admissions officer agrees with her judgement.

Photos by Kayleigh Mitchell / Maclay Andalusian