Once Choate applicants receive their acceptance letters, they are enthusiastically invited to revisit campus, so they may better make a final decision on whether or not they will come to our school. During each annual round of Spring Visit days, the Choate community puts a tremendous effort into welcoming accepted students and their parents to campus and encouraging them to enroll for the upcoming fall. However, along with Spring Visit days comes a great deal of inconvenience for both faculty members and students.
A large portion of the student body is required to host an accepted student for at least one Spring Visit day. Upon discovering that they would be touring an accepted student, many of my classmates were disappointed with the news. After a day of touring a student myself, I discovered the reasons behind their negative attitudes.
On the final day of Spring Visits, I was to leave my H block class twenty minutes early to pick up the student I was hosting. While on my way to the PMAC, I missed important information about the test I had the following day. Consequently, I had to spend time seeking out my classmates so that they could update me on any information I missed.
Later in the day, I had to drop my host student off at the Chapel so that he could reunite with his parents. Because of this, I was twenty minutes late to my A block class. Every minute of class time is vital; if a student has to be absent from class for any reason, he or she typically has to seek out his or her teacher to review a missed lesson or to make up work. This process is a hassle for both the teacher and the student, especially at a school where many, teachers and students alike, have hectic schedules. Similarly, if a student decides to reach out to his or her classmate to cover what was missed, they may incur the same challenges. Finding a mutual free time to meet is an additional inconvenience in itself. Furthermore, those on student panels and in ensembles miss class time even if they’re not hosting a student. For many students, Spring Visit days mean missing class time.
In addition, students are told if they’re a host only a few days prior to the Spring Visit day. Because of this, students are unaware if they will miss class until the last minute, leaving teachers uncertain if they should alter their weekly plans accordingly.
A final drawback of Spring Visit days is the schedule change: there is no conference block on Revisit Days. Conference blocks are vital when many students are missing class to accommodate their prospective students. Without the free period, many students are unable to meet with teachers for extra help or makeup work.
Spring Visit days are exciting times to celebrate one’s acceptance into a competitive and prestigious school, and they are great opportunities to meet incoming students and to promote school spirit. However, they come with a great deal of inconvenience. A significant portion of the student body misses class, and without prompt notice, teachers are unable to adequately prepare for those absences. Schedules without conference period also make it difficult for students to find time to meet with their teachers.
A Spring Visit day can and should be an event that is positively anticipated by students. If adjustments were made so that students missed less class time and free time, more would look forward to hosting a student rather than complain.
