Learning Curve Article

For this post, I'm going to blog about an article I recently read in Teen Vogue Magazine. The article is called learning curve and captures the events of two high school juniors and what they went through during some disturbing incidents when visiting colleges they were thinking of attending.

In the article, Sarah, a high school junior went on an overnight visit to a small college in Connecticut. When she arrived she was warmly welcomed and felt the acceptance from college students immediately. Not soon after arriving, her host for the night thought they should attend a friend's party. "It sounded fun." Sarah recalled. "But then we got in the car and drove for close to 45 minutes." She ended up at a party that was totally off campus and was very frightened for she was only seventeen at the time. The article stated that Sarah is actually not alone when it comes to this type of experience. According to a study from Students Against Destructive Decisions and Liberty Mutual Group, 39.1% of teens who go on an overnight college visit report drinking, using drugs, or engaging in sexual activity during their stay, with 12.4% engaging in all three.

This article made me question a view on visits to colleges. If this is how things "play out" on a regular college overnight visit, this may make students reconsider visiting and experiencing the colleges they most want to attend. Even though the events that played out during Sarah's experience may have happened because of poor decision making and wanting to "fit in", these types of things should not happen when a high school student is visiting maybe one of their dream schools. It not only puts a bad reputation on for the school, but it also puts students visiting in danger and might make them reconsider the school they want to attend.

Another student, by the name of Maya, stayed overnight at a school she thought she wanted to attend. And when she was there, the students from the college basically wanted to throw a party for her to get drunk. Even though Maya knew it was a wrong decision, she wanted to fit in and therefore did get drunk that night.

Even though when visiting a college and things like this happen, there are precautions one can take before the overnight stay. Brian Glassberg a counsler at John P. Stevens High School in Edison, New Jersey states that his students view the visit as an assignment and not a vacation. "Treat it as though you're a boss interviewing the school and when you meet your host, ask if you can also meet the dorm's resident advisor." These steps can help you and guide you on your overnight stay at a college.

Overall, I thought the article was informative and precautioning high school students to stand their ground if anything should happen like what happened to Sarah and Maya. It also gave me an insight to what to expect if I ever want to go visit a school on an overnight. Because these college visits are sure coming down the road quickly and I know I want to be prepared as much as possible for anything that can happen.