By Lucy Walsh
While comfort levels vary concerning travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, high school students navigating the college search process are taking on a whole new experience than those who’ve enrolled before them. This is most likely one of the biggest commitments they have ever individually gotten to make, and they’re doing it at ages 16-18 during some really peculiar times! Even five years later I can remember how much anticipation and sometimes stress I put on myself to reconcile if the best choice, safest choice, most fun choice, most cost effective choice and most growth-inducing choice could somehow all line up to be the same thing. By some miracle, Belmont has been able to become all of those things to me, and now serving as a Bruin Recruiter for Belmont’s Office of Admissions I get to help prospective public relations students navigate the same thing. After having the first virtual Preview Day of the 2020-2021 academic year under my belt, I finally feel qualified to share some advice on how to make the most of the college admissions processes, even if you’re doing it from home for now!
DON’T: Forget to register in advance!
Signing up online is a simple process, and it ensures that Belmont will be expecting you. While this is a no cost event, reservations are still required so admissions counselors and academic colleges can prepare accordingly. Also, this creates a BU4U account that can be used to schedule future visits or even apply to the university during a high school student’s senior year! To register for an upcoming preview day, visit http://www.belmont.edu/admissions/visiting/previewday/index.html.
DO: Consider academics!
While you might not have to pack your car or book a flight, it is still best to put some work in before a virtual visit. One of the most important things to take a look at is what major or academic college you might want to visit during our academic sessions. Listing a major on your registration isn’t like signing a marriage certificate- you aren’t in any way making a binding or lasting commitment! However, it’s always a good idea to have a starting place that lines up with some of your interests.
For example, I love speaking to prospective students interested in public relations, but I would also never hesitate to refer them to our friends in the media studies or marketing departments if they decided they wanted to explore related fields! Additionally, you might think you could see yourself as an entrepreneur, but then learn that a degree in creative and entertainment industries or Christian leadership could help get you to that goal. That’s what these visits are all about! Pick a starting place, but feel free to explore. Learn more about each academic college here: http://www.belmont.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools.html.
DON’T: Think that you can’t get a well rounded touring experience virtually.
When you think about it, people have traditionally chosen restaurants and booked vacations virtually all the time. While making a four year commitment is a bit bigger than a weekend getaway or dinner reservation, you can still apply some of those same skills to scoping out services within things like dining services and residential life. Engage with the virtual tours, and put your Yelp and VRBO stalking skills to work! You can watch virtual residence hall and campus tours here: http://www.belmont.edu/admissions/visiting/online-info-sessions.html.
DO: Make it personal!
The entire collection of staff, faculty and current students hosting Preview Day and other admissions events are truly there because they want to spend time helping you feel at home on Belmont’s campus, so engage with them meaningfully with any questions you have! No one wants you to feel like just another muted mic in a Zoom room, so speak up if you need clarification or have a really specific concern. We love hearing people ask about things like what it might be like for a student moving from Chicago who hasn’t spent a lot of time in Nashville or how a student could potentially blend their love of both music and politics.
On the other side of the coin, feel free to ask staff and students about their own personal Belmont experiences! Some of my favorite Preview Day memories have come from personal moments where parents have asked my advisor why she wanted to teach at Belmont instead of her former state university, and I vividly remember students wanting to know about my own experience going to a different college as my twin brother. In my opinion, the people are truly what makes Belmont University special, and I promise that we want to get to know you as you might want to get to know us!
At this time, it is undetermined if Preview Days for the rest of the academic year will be able to operate in an in-person capacity, but mark your calendars accordingly to join us on November 7th and 14th! However, I am sure that with these do’s and don’ts in mind that you can make the most of any virtual, hybrid or on campus experience that those days may hold! To learn more about preview days, contact the Office of Admissions or Dr. Kevin Trowbridge.
Lucy Walsh is a senior public relations and publishing student from Evansville, Indiana. Alongside her duties as the editor of the PR at Belmont blog, she is an active executive board member of Belmont PRSSA and Belmont Ambassadors. She can typically be found listening to the full discography of Taylor Swift, walking Belmont Blvd. or writing snail mail to her friends and family. The photo included in this post was taken during the November 2019 Preview Day.