December 2021
There are many benefits to attending a community college; tuition can be more affordable than at a university, students who opt to attend classes part-time have the flexibility to hold a job, and many students choose to live at home to save money. This month, College and Career Prep participants made a trip out to Washtenaw Community College (WCC) and Schoolcraft College to experience the campuses in-person.
The tour group began their day at Washtenaw Community College exploring classrooms, labs, the library, the advising department, and the student center. As they followed a campus representative through the buildings, the prospective students asked questions about tuition, coursework, and extracurricular activities. One participant shared that her mother will be attending WCC in the fall, and that she has been considering the school for herself as well. Later, as the group ate lunch together, the same participant announced that she is making the decision to attend WCC, where she looks forward to learning, growing, and possibly even attending classes alongside her mother.
After lunch, the group made their way to their second tour at Schoolcraft College. For this tour, they followed Girls Group staff member and graduate of Schoolcraft College, Ivy Lam, across campus. As they made their way through the library, participants were thrilled to learn that the library has a healthy collection of “fun-reading” books like fiction novels fantasy series. As the group passed the library’s bulletin board, one of the participants stopped in her tracks when she saw a flyer advertising the college’s animation class. The participant has long-spoken about her dream to receive a degree in animation, however, she shared that she didn’t think there would be options for her to learn about animation at any community college. “It’s decided, this is my school,” she exclaimed.
Girls Group participants frequently talk about how difficult it can be to gauge whether a college will be a good fit for them. After being immersed on the campus for just a few hours with a tour guide, however, they usually have a much better idea of the opportunities the college could provide for them. With two participants now certain of their college decision and the rest of the tour group much more informed about their options, we’d say this was an extra successful tour!