On Monday, April 25th, juniors were warmly welcomed back from Pesach break with none other than… College Night! Prior to Pesach break, the College Office sent students a form containing a long list of colleges, requesting that students and parents select four colleges each that he or she is interested in learning about. On Monday night, all juniors gathered in the auditorium to kick off a night full of intense ice breakers, college brochure handouts, and repetitive student questions. 

Ms. Messinger opened the programming by introducing the plan for the night: all students would receive a schedule containing time slots adjacent to the names of the four colleges that he or she had selected. Finally, students broke out into their assigned rooms, and college night officially began. Most college representatives began by distributing pamphlets containing information concerning the college’s courses, majors, campus life, application process, research opportunities, financial aid opportunities, etc. Then, the representatives asked students to introduce themselves, asking for the student’s name and what they are either looking for in a college or what they are interested in studying. According to Shira Shasha ‘23, “once the representative asked what I am interested in studying, I honestly freaked out a bit. Not only was I unsure of the answer myself, I was intimidated by the fact that these college representatives expected me, a high school junior, to know the answer off the top of my head.” To follow, the representatives gave a five to ten minute rundown on what his/her college represents and what the school’s curriculum looks like. Finally, students and parents were able to ask any and every question they desired, ranging from “what research opportunities does your school offer in the field of ___,” to “are there any fun school wide traditions that take place in your college?” 

Many students found college night extremely helpful in getting a better idea of what each school has to offer, including Jacqueline Landy ‘23, who explained that “before college night, I had no idea that this certain school would be of interest to me. My advisor recommended that I sign up in order to learn a bit about this particular college, and so I listened. Now, having a better understanding of the school’s flexible curriculum and vast research opportunities, I think it might just be my first choice!” 

In terms of the college process in general, Sam Senderowicz ‘23 remarked that although the exposure to actual college representatives seemed a bit abrupt and was quite frankly intimidating, “if I had not been exposed to actual college representatives by this point, I would be even more intimidated by the unknowns of college.” Along with Sam, many students felt that prior to college night, the unknowns of what sets one college apart from another, or how the admissions process works, was truly the most intimidating part of the college process. Now, having had first hand exposure to college representatives, students were able to discover these unknowns, bringing them closer and closer to discovering what he/she is truly looking for in a college experience.