December 19, 1996
News
Sena00t°00300
College visits: discovering the hidden truths
Jessica Koepl
Reporter
Would you ever buy a car
without test-driving it first? Of
course not. But many students
will enroll in a college with-
out ever checking out the cam-
pus, sometimes leading to sur-
prises or disappointments•
Visiting a college can be a lot
like test-drixing a car-- stu-
dents get to see how well it
runs, whether or not they like
its atmosphere, and what
equipment (and how well it
works) is included in the
sticker price.
Kathi Lecertua, Borah's Ca-
reer Center adviser, said that
;about 50 percent of graduating
seniors enroll in college. Of
these students, less than half
of them visit their prospective
schools. The numbers are
probably small because many
students from Borah attend
Boise State University or the
University of Idaho, campuses
that are close enough for them
to have already visited. Some
students who are interested in
schools farther away don't have
the money to make an visit.
There are other alternatives
for those students unable to visit
the college(s) of their choice for
financial or other reasons.
Some colleges offer campus
tours by, video, which can give
students a good feel of the cam-
pus' atmosphere. These tours
are often professionally shot
and edited to present the col-
lege as a perfect wonderland.
The video might not say" how
big campus spirit and morale
is, whether or not it snows six
months out oftheyear there and
the videos definitely won't tell
you just hou, inedible the food
is.
Your best bet if you are unable
to see the campus in person.
said Lecertua, would be to talk
to current students or past al-
ums in your area. They can
paint a clearer picture of the
school than even the cleverest
viewbooks. Some alumni can
even arrange local intcrvie to
help the college get to know
you.
Many students imagine the
college interview as a nerve-
xacking process, filled x4th
question after question about
everything from what the pro-
spective student plans to do
with their life to a scrutinizing
look at every incident that hap-
pened since preschool. Most in-
terviews take place simply to
give colleges a better picture of
the real y'ou. 'You should ap-
proach interviews as informa-
tion sessions," said Matthew
Sanders, an adinissions fellow
at Carleton College in
Northfield, Minnesota. "The
primary, purpose of a visit and
interview is to determine
whether or not the college is a
match for you, not vice-versa."
Lots of colleges and universi-
ties offer special visitation days
or weekends when prospective
collegiates can check out the
campus. There are special ac-
tivities that help portray the
school in the clearest light. Se-
nior Zach Owens went on one
such visit to Montana Tech last
year. Owens is glad that he got
the chance to visit what as one
of his first-choice schools. He
learned valuable information
about the school's academics,
social life- and setting. "'It was
a good visit, but I was annoyed
by the surroundings. It was next
to an open pit mine!"
Sumer Davis, senior, had a bit
of a different experience on her
visit to the U of I. "'I went for
basketball .... it was a little dif.
ferent from just checking il
out." said one of Borah's sta:
varsity players. Davis met witl
the women's team, coaches
and a few professors. This gave
her good idea of the school, bu
what she liked best was its so.
cial scene. She arrived in th(
midst of Homecoming, and ha€
a blast hanging out with stu.
dents and cheering on the Van.
dais. Since her visit, Davis ha,,
confirmed that she has signet
on with the U of I team.
Whether the point of a visit is
to check out its social and aca.
dcmic life, or if by' chance it i,,
near any large industrial
projects, seeing the college i,
important. Said Lecertua, "'Be-
cause it's going to be a horn(
away from home lbr the nex
four years, it should be a plac
where a student feels comforl.
able.'"
College preparations start as graduation draws near
Joel York
Reporter
With the new )'ear fast ap-
proaching many- seniors have
begun to turn their thoughts
towards the fall of 1997, their
freshmen college year. Some
apply, to right there on your
screen. Some colleges even
send you disks that will let you
point and click your way to suc-
cess.
After filling out a couple of
applications, send them off to
ha,/e jlllfe,, .:olt their.. ¥olltl;llrcllige. motsand
destinations.
Senior Chris Burnum states,
"'BSU probably isn't very good,
but it's still college and it's
cheap, so I'm there." Many are
holding out for that magic
school that is going to come out
and search for them.
Unfortunately that isn't going
to happen for 99 percent of the
students at Borah. How do you
avoid being left holding the
proverbial bag? Hit the career
center and use their resources
to find six or seven colleges that
appeal to you whether it loca-
tion, cost, or quality of degree.
You can wa'ite letters to those
colleges to get viewbooks, vid-
eos, and brochures. If comput-
ers are your forte, the internet
offers a wide variety of colleges
that you can look at or even
wait for a reply. Junior Pete
Fullinwider states, "'I really en-
joy writing out a bunch of stuff
and pa)lng twenty bucks so a
school can decide if I am wor-
thy enough to pay them
mone}:" After the colleges re-
pl); whether you have been ac-
cepted or not, narrow your
choices down to two or three
schools and it is important tO
visit these schools. If you don't
see the schools, there can be
problems come August- hating
the weather or the atmosphere
of the school. TO' to visit dur-
ing the school year. Sarah
Jenkins, senior, said, "It was
hard to do during the summer
and there weren't many people
there. They kept telling to
come back during the school
year."
:: ..... i,.. ..
confused yet? ,oro: STEVEN MENDENHALL
h'athi Lecurtua, career center counselor, helps out junior Chris Garcia with future decisions
about college. The career center is open to all students during school hours to inform them of
their post high school plans, from vocational schooling to college education.
Briefs
Second cuRure day brings
enjoyment through learning
"Everybody looked like they
had fun," senior Megan Shaw
said about the African and
Middle East Culture Day held
during the first week of De-
cember. Using nearly every.
table in the library, groups of
two to three showed offa coun-
try from the regions.
Paul Goralski, senior, and
Shaw wore the cultural burial
ceremony dress used in Nige-
ria. Dressed up in large pants,
a long shirt, and a tall pink hat,
Shaw helped Goralski xJth his
demonstration. "I learned lots
of stuff about the country, that
I didn't know," she said.
Seniors JeffBader and Chris-
tine DelGrosso used visual dis-
plays of Israel and items from
there to show daily cultural life.
Bader enjoyed the east culture
day, Asian Culture Day held
earlier this year.
New stores come to
Borah neighborhood
Blimpie Subs and Sand-
wiches, Moxie Java Coffee, and
Godfathers Pizza have all
opened. Located in a brand
new building in the Hillcrest
Shopping Center between
Blockbuster Video and U. S.
Bank, these restaurants give
students more places to go at
lunch.
Blimpie Subs and Sandwiches
features a full menu including
6" and 12" subs, soup and sand-
wiches. A drive through win-
dow is included for on-the-go
lunch eaters.
Godfathers pizza will be open
with an inexpensive lunch buf-
fet Monday through Friday. A
full line of pizza is sewed, in-
cluding desert.
Moxie Java will feature all of
the standards, from Biscotti to
Mochas. The design will in-
clude tables with coffee beans
under a glass panel and a cof-
fee bean display near the cash
register.
Burger King is currently ex-
panding their restaurant on
Overland road, plus enhancing
the parking lot and drive-
through areas.
Also new is Big Sky Family
Entertainment, featuring bat-
ting cages, laser tag, video
games, pool and a cafe. Big Sky
is located next to the Reel The-
atres in the Big Sky Plaza
Starbucks coffee is also on the
horizon for Boise. Four coffee
houses are expected to open
around the area. Locations
have not been announced and
Starbucks was not available for
comment.
Tutoring tables
start up with NHS
After the recent release of nine
week report cards, some stu-
dents may be in desperate
search ofextra help in trouble-
some subjects. With that and
other factors in mind, the
members of National Honor
Society have set up a program
that offers students their ser-
vice, free of charge, as tutors.
The program is called Tutor
Tables, and was established
last year. Proving to be suc-
cessful, it is once again acces-
sible to students.
Tutor Tables are available on
Wed, from 3 to 4:30 pm, in the
career center. It is open to all
students and no appointment
is needed to enlist their ser-
vices. NHS members ask that
you bring your text book, pa-
per, and a pencil.
