On the Road Reviews

Blair’s college counselors actively pursue opportunities to visit universities across the country and around the globe each year. Through conferences for admission professionals and college counselor tour programs and even during family vacations, our team members continue to enhance our knowledge of the campuses, student cultures and academic offerings at institutions of higher learning. We visit with admission representatives, speak with student tour guides and journey through the physical spaces; we seek to identify the unique aspects of schools that make them a good match for certain students, so we can connect Blair graduates with places where they will thrive and grow in their college years and beyond.

In the pages that follow, Blair’s counselors share stories and insights from recent visits that furthered their understanding of student “fit” with particular schools.

Niki Applebaum, Dean of College Counseling

Niki Applebaum, Dean of College Counseling

In your travels, what have you learned about the type of scholars who would thrive in different academic departments?

It’s easy enough to make a list of colleges that offer a particular major (even some highly specialized ones) and to identify the academic requirements of the curriculum. A slide listing all the areas of study is likely to be projected during an information session, and student tour guides will likely share information about courses they took to meet specific graduation requirements. But a closer inspection of the physical spaces of the learning environments help me ascertain what type of learners would thrive in the academic community. Matching students with schools that offer what they want to study is one thing; discovering best-fit schools for how a student learns is a much better tool in assessing fit.

Immediately upon entering the main building of Temple University’s Tyler School School of Art and Architecture, the space announced its focus on students’ work, with displays of mixed-media graphic design posters, tech equipment fabricated in the maker spaces, and glasswork incorporated into 3-D architecture models made right in the architecture and glassblowing studio. All suggested not just the importance of hands-on exploration but also boundary-pushing, interdisciplinary experimentation. As I walked downstairs, I gazed at the outdoor horticulture area primarily used for landscape architecture students, but also where a passing student explained that she, as a Fiber and Material Studies major, could cultivate plants to experiment with the dyes that would work on the environmentally friendly fabric she was crafting. I quickly got the fit: Temple learners are those whose minds thrive when they mix a hands-on learning experience with permission to pursue outside-of-the-box (and even seemingly zany!) inspirations and ideas.

How do you look for which student personalities might appreciate unique campus elements?

Gleaming athletic buildings, cutting-edge research labs, expansive libraries bolstered by online resources and bustling student centers...many colleges showcase their impressive facilities on campus tours. Of course, the architecture and style as well as the layout and location make each place unique by adding to the campus atmosphere. But while visiting colleges, I like to look for the little gems—sometimes hidden ones—on campus, so I often wander around after the tour. I seek to discover the unique, smaller elements that assist my understanding of what student personality will be supported by the campus environs.

On a recent visit to Middlebury, while meandering along a pathway next to the impressive Davis Family Library (whose comfortable chairs give breathtaking vistas of the nearby mountains), I stumbled upon a small, slightly hidden meditation garden. The sound of soothing running water pinging against a tin fountain accompanied by benches of smooth Vermont granite slabs drew me into the space, where I sat contently, observing insects crawling on the moss covering the more intricately carved granite ground pavers. Middlebury’s small campus gem proved it isn’t just for nature-lovers, skiers, outdoor enthusiasts and environmentalists drawn to the Green Mountains: it’s also for those souls who appreciate moments of reflection, for those personalities who appreciate invitations to get lost in contemplation once in awhile, even amidst the busy days of college life.

How do you determine if student character would flourish amidst the values expressed by the community?

A student might say to me that she wants to continue in an acapella group in college. Or, as counselors, we might ask for more information on what students do at Blair—if we don’t already know from seeing them actually doing it!—outside of the classroom. Athletics? Model UN? Performing arts? Instrumental music? But while those are interests, activities and passions, what I’m trying to help students glean is what they value by how they choose to spend time not devoted to their academics. I know that colleges will most likely offer some astounding number of groups and organizations for students to continue those pursuits and to explore new ones. Being on the road and experiencing campus events first-hand give me further glimpses into the campus climate and student community; then I gain an understanding of how a school may fit with students’ values and core character.

I have to admit I was somewhat surprised when touring Eugene Lang’s New School to find the tour guide proudly asking us to peer around thousands of paper signs plastered in and around the entryway of the main dining commons. Beyond the postings about the dignity of work and human rights, we could see students “occupying” the space inside, in what the tour guide explained was a 24-7 protest in response to the school administration’s announcement to replace the current dining hall workers. Many of these workers were the only black and brown staff or faculty our tour guide said she interacted with regularly, and they were to be replaced with lower-wage student labor. At a school where I thought decentralized buildings peppering many city streets could hamper a sense of a shared experience, I gained clarity into the tenor of the New School: a student whose values and character inspire her to action on behalf of social justice and community will flourish there.