(COVINGTON, La.) — College visits provide students with the unique experience of getting to virtually tour a college without leaving the comforts of the St. Paul’s campus. During these visits, representatives from selected colleges come to visit campus and explain their school to students.

“These college visits really are an opportunity to look in on many more colleges than we could on our own, to find out what we really want in a college, and a way to start narrowing our choices down,” junior A.J. LaCroix said.

Visits began in early October and will continue throughout the school year for the benefit of the junior and senior classes of St. Paul’s. Students generally find this program to be helpful in the long and tedious process of choosing which college they will attend after their senior year.

“(The college visits) provide a unique insight into what these various colleges have to offer and are a much better and more personal experience than, say, visiting the college’s web site,” LaCroix said. “It’s also more in-depth, and you have the ability to ask more questions to become more knowledgeable about the campus, the college’s atmosphere, majors and minors, (and other things).”

So far, Southern Methodist University (SMU), Duke University, and Spring Hill College are the most popular colleges to visit, evident by the number of student who attended those informational sessions. Many other colleges have graced the SPS campus, however, such as the University of Richmond, Hendrix College, Ole Miss, and many more.

“I think, for some students, it opens their eyes to search for schools that, maybe, they hadn’t considered before,” senior counselor Renee Miller said.  “Plus, the representatives that come to visit St. Paul’s are actually the ones who read their applications, so it gives those representatives a chance to put a face with a name. This really has shown to improve our students’ odds of standing out among countless other applicants.”

Interested juniors and seniors are advised to go to the counseling office every week to pick up some college pamphlets and to see what new and exciting colleges may visit next.