College and Career counselor Ms. Becky Bain recently flew out to Utah for the University of Utah College Counselor conference.
“When out-of-state colleges notice they’re getting high volumes out of a certain high school, they may offer a ‘College Counselor fly-in’ to build relationships,” she said.
This is an all-expense paid trip, so the counselors can experience first-hand what the college has to offer.
“NDA students have been attending the University of Utah steadily for the last 10 years,” said Bain.
Since an average of four students per year have matriculated to the U-UT in the last four years, Bain was on U-UT’s offer list.
She is one of nine college counselors chosen from across the US.
“I was thrilled to be one of them! It was valuable to me, as a counselor, to connect with counselors from other schools to learn how they do things differently, so I can bring fresh ideas to our Student Services department,” added the College Counselor.
Out of all her tours and informative meetings, nothing was more impactful than connecting with NDA alum Lachlan Chambers.
Chambers attends U-UT along with four other alumni of the Class of 2024.
“Lachlan is an RA for his residence hall and works with U-UT’s Campus Experience department. These enjoyable on-campus jobs lower his cost of attendance substantially.
“I learned that college has great endowments, like U-UT, and if students have good GPAs and test scores, great experiences can be had at very reasonable price-points,” she said.
Ms. Bain would tell all underclassmen who are starting to search for their “right-fit” for college to remember “it is first and foremost all about knowing yourself.”
“Visit the colleges to experience what it is like to be on campus,” she continued, “and finally, do your research: Do they have the programs and majors you want?”
