CCC visits are beneficial, but students should not misuse resources

By Claire DuMont

Opinion Editor

Throughout the school year, representatives from various colleges and universities visit Costa’s College and Career Center to give information to prospective applicants. While these visits are beneficial, students should not utilize and enroll in the meetings to disrupt class time.

To attend the college visits, students sign up on Naviance. Students are also supposed to give their teachers advance notice and get permission to go to the visit in order make sure they are not missing important lectures or assignments. With this prior notice that both teachers and students have before the visit, students should be aware of what class they are missing, and of the possible consequences that come from missing class, according to the Mira Costa High School website. If students choose to miss class for the visit, giving prior notice can also allow a student to arrange to make up a test or assignment.

A small portion of the college visits are held during lunch or office hours, which ideally allows students to attend the visits without missing much class time. The scheduling of future visits during students’ free time should encourage students to attend and gain the benefits, while also ensuring that no assignments or tests are missed. Students that are aware of college visits should prioritize attending college visits during office hours or lunch over those held during class periods to avoid missing important material or  tests, as that can lead to academic consequences and possibly hurt students more than attending the sessions benefits .

According to Mira Costa History and Economics teacher Adam Geczi, many students have recently missed class periods in order to attend college visits, which he thinks has a negative effect on the individual students and the class as a whole. When students miss class, they miss important material for the subject that could be covered on an upcoming test or assignment important to their grade, potentially holding them back from attending the college they were at the visit for in the first place.

Students should thus weigh their options of missing important material that could hurt them in the future or attending the CCC college visit which could benefit the student in determining whether or not they have a chance of being accepted into that college.

According to Geczi, out of 10 example students that would miss Gezci’s class to attend a visit, only two would give him notice prior to the meeting. Not notifying teachers can also hurt students grade because, in classes such as Geczi’s, if students miss a class period where there was a test or quiz, the student may be penalized with a harder assignment or test, possibly making or breaking the student’s chances of getting into a college in the future. When students give prior notice to the teacher’s whose class the student is missing, students can be notified of any assignments or tests that they might miss and make an informed decision regarding what they might miss, as well as make arrangements to make up what they will miss.

Although students may be absent for a class period due to a college visit at the CCC, going to these college visits show a demonstrated interest in the colleges, which can help determine college admissions, according to the College Data website. Since colleges can use a student’s demonstrated interest to help determine their admissions, it is important for students to take part in these CCC visits because it can play a role if they get into the college or not, which could have more weight in the college admissions process, over a certain grade in a class.

Even though students might feel the need to prioritize college visits over class time because it shows demonstrated interest and usually consists of basic information about the college or how they can get in touch with college admissions counselors from the colleges that are visiting the school,                                                                                                                                  they can access this information during non-class times by visiting the CCC.

Students who are unable to attend a college visit because they would miss class, but are still interested in learning about the specific college, can take advantage of college fairs and information sessions held in the community or those held Costa after school. With more time allotted for these fairs and information sessions, students can gain more benefit from attending, rather than having to miss class to go to a college visit during the school day.

While college visits in the College and Career Center can prove beneficial to students’ knowledge about their potential college plans and options, ultimately students should take precautions to prioritize important class time over the visits, or take advantage of additional ways to gain information about a certain college.