A Taste of the Future: Belmont High's College Night Brings Out the Crowd

A few minutes after the opening of its annual College Night on Wednesday, Oct. 9, Belmont High School's Wenner Field House was packed with high schoolers and their parents looking over a hundred choices that could be their next stop in their education. 

Some students knew exactly which booth they were heading, asking specific questions or just wanting to know what to expect living in Washington DC or what sort of financial package they could expect to receive. Others just wandered the field house, taking pamphlets and brochures.

Stacie Ross, a Belmont High guidance counselor who managed this year's event, said the school invites colleges from across the US and from Canada to "join us so they can met our students" as well as those from nearby communities and schools.

"It's about getting a little one-on-one action between our students and hopefully one of the colleges they will be attending," said Ross, adding that 115 representatives of colleges and universities came this year, "running the gambit from Ivy League (schools) to the large state-run universities and small private colleges. 

"We encourage all grade levels to attend; the 11th graders to start the process of checking out colleges and becoming familiar with reps and to seniors to start making connections with the colleges to see if they are right for them and get to know the reps who will read their applications," said Ross.

For Belmont senior Gabrielle Joyal, College Night was a chance "to get some ideas" of colleges in Canada such as McGill and Concordia.

"It's a way to hear about (colleges) rather then just do it online," said Joyal. "It's nice to have a human contact with the school."

For the college reps, it was all about selling the best qualities of their institutions to the students and their parents. Liz Marsden who came to promote Curry College in Milton said students were asking about programs and financial aid as the top two questions being asked.

"I'm telling prospective students that Curry is a smaller college on a great campus that is close to home. You won't get lost in the crowd at Curry or going back home for the weekend," Marsden said with a laugh.