Tuesday, March 5, the junior class of RBHS’s Advanced Via Individual Determination (AVID) took a trip to tour Maryville University in Saint Louis, Mo. Students received the opportunity to visit the campus and meet a few of the current college students, a university life coach and a admission administrator. Lisa Holt, the AVID Coordinator said she hopes these college trips helps students choose what type of colleges are best suited for them.
“We go on AVID trips to colleges because we feel like it helps students to formulate their opinions on about what they want their college experience to look like,” Holt said, “and they will be better informed and make better decisions on which schools they want to apply to in the fall of their senior year.”
Junior Lamia Givens, who is looking to studying nursing, found interest in Maryville because of its variety of activities and organizations.
“I like that they have many activities you can do, a lot of organizations,” Givens said. “You’re never bored here.”
Holt said as students go on these college trips, they discover their main priorities in deciding what college is best for them. Also Holt said it is important for students to not only hear from their own teachers about college, but from actual college students and teachers.
“We want kids to be able to come up with at least 5 things that are really important to them in a college and so having an experience to a variety of colleges that can help to come up with those five things,” Holt said. “We also want them to realize GPA and ACT scores are important when it comes to scholarships and how much college is going to cost you. We always hear those things when we hear our admissions presentations. And it always just helps to support what we’re telling students all the time but to also hear somebody else say it, we think is good.”
Junior Simone Prince found Maryville friendly and noticed technology use is very prominent at the university. All students who attend Maryville receive an iPad as a resource for research, note taking, studying, and, recreation
“The campus is different from all the other campuses we’ve been to,” Prince said. “I can tell they use a lot more technology, especially their iPads. Their campus also feels friendly and is easy to get around.”
AVID college trips have benefited both GIvens and Prince. Whether they like a college or not, students gain better experience and confidence in deciding what school would be best for them, with the added bonus of a small feel of what college life is like.
“We always hear kids walk away and say, ‘I can see myself going to this school or to a school like this’,” Holt said. “And other kids say, ’no I didn’t really like it’, but it really doesn’t matter which, we feel like students learn something either way.”
Are you in AVID? Let us know in the comments below!