In yet another blazingly intelligent decision, the administration has done away with overnight visits for prospective students.
That’s one of the worst ideas they’ve ever had.
Half the reason I came to Guilford was because of the feeling I had while on campus. I overnighted here and I felt at home, comfortable. I was more at ease with college first-years and sophomores than I was with my senior class back home.
How are prospectives supposed to know whether or not they’ll fit in at Guilford if they don’t have any chance to be among Guilford students?
What’s so wrong about high school seniors coming to stay overnight at Guilford? We have the Early College program: high school juniors and seniors are on campus all day anyway. How big a difference does spending a night make?
Hold on, stupid question. I live in Bryan, party central of Guilford campus. I should know better than to ask that. Beer, the dreaded Everclear, pot, and all the wonderful psychedelics that a college campus can provide sound like plenty of reasons not to let high-schoolers spend the night.
Provided the administration is smart about things and doesn’t bring prospectives here on the weekend, I can’t really see a problem. No one does much partying Sunday to Wednesday, so the campus is pretty quiet, with loads of opportunities to meet and interact with students.
Being a little more selective with potential hosts would be a good idea, as would information about which days are bad for a particular host to have company. I’ve heard a horror story or two about a host who abandoned his prospective. That’s precisely the kind of person that shouldn’t be approved to be a host at all.
Put some work into it; match up a prospective with a host who has similar tastes, like we already do with the roommate compatibility forms. Add a few questions to something like that, and you’ve got a pretty good way to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
Opening up hosting opportunities to volunteers in addition to relying on recommendations. Some students are shy and don’t speak up in class much, but they’d make great hosts. I, for one, would love to be a host to a student looking to come to Guilford.
Bottom line: prospective visits are an important part of the college application experience because they allow these kids to live the life of a college student, if only for one night.
Current students, think back to your visit; was it a major influence in your decision to come to Guilford? I think most of us would say yes; I know it definitely was for me.