by Laura Boycourt
THE VIRTUAL CAMPUS TOUR GETTING TO KNOW YOU FROM AFAR.
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or high school students ready to check out colleges and universities, it won’t be business as usual this year due to COVID-19 related restrictions and safety precautions. Fortunately, schools are boosting their virtual experiences and tailoring visit opportunities so that students can still learn all they need to know. Here’s what some local schools are doing to make campuses and admission activities accessible to prospective students.
Connect, Connect, Connect
Laura Burrell Baxter, Director of College Advising at The Key School, says that the high school Class of 2021 will likely experience the greatest challenge when it comes to selecting their school, since much of the search process from the pre-COVID days just isn’t possible at this time. “The biggest difference I’ve seen,” says Baxter, “is that there are so many more opportunities (for a high school student) to do either Skype or a Google meet or a Zoom call with your admission counselor,” or whatever type of college representative you’d normally see visiting a high school or presenting at a college fair. Even parents can connect virtually with financial aid officers or other individuals they’d normally meet with in person. “We all have that venue” now, she says. Baxter adds that since so many high schoolers are already on social media, researching schools through their
18 • BIG BOOK OF E D UC AT I O N 2 0 2 0- 2 02 1 • C h e s a p e a k e F a m i l y . c o m
