For the past five years at Gables, juniors have had the opportunity to go on an in-state college tour; however, this year was especially revolutionary. For the first time, juniors had the opportunity to go on an out-of-state college tour. Based on the success of the trip, Gables will make the out-of state college tour available for next year’s juniors!

“I do plan on going to college and I will most likely stay in state to be able to be close to my family and to avoid spending excessive amounts of money on flights. I would like to study medicine and become an anesthesiologist. I do look forward to going on the college tour because it will help me familiarize myself more with the schools that are potential options for me” sophomore Jillian Paz said.

The out-of-state college tour was a 6-day long trip which included in-state schools such as University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and Florida State University, and out-of-state schools including North Carolina State University, University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Emory University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Davidson College. Juniors were given the opportunity to speak to Gables graduates attending those schools and get a real life college experience by exploring the campus, eating at local diners and entering student dorms.

“The UF tour was an eye-opening experience. I absolutely adored the school so I’m definitely applying there and I do hope to attend college there. The school ambience really surprised me as I had a negative view of college and thought that it would be dull, but visiting [it] made me realize that there are many events on campus and other students with vibrant personalities whom I can become friends with and share fun experiences. It was definitely way better than what I expected for any university,” junior Patricia Llamos said.

Next year’s college tour will also bring new and exciting changes for the soon-to-be juniors. The upcoming out-of-state college tour will occur separately from the in-state college tour, and the price of the in-state college tour will be reduced in order to give students the opportunity to attend both college tours. Rather than driving north, students will fly to Atlanta and drive to Tennessee to visit Vanderbilt and Sewanee University. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to visit Elon University, Wake Forest University and High Point University in North Carolina.

“It was an amazing experience. We got to really feel the college experience and bond with each other. It honestly exceeded my expectations; we got to see different types of colleges and I feel that now we can actually decide which type of colleges we like. For the upcoming juniors I would say that expect no sleep whatsoever and even though [we’re] on the bus most of the trip, it is totally worth it,” junior David Atkins said.

Academic requirements to attend college tour will remain the same: students must have a 3.0 unweighted grade point average, as this strengthens the likelihood of acceptance into the out-of state schools that are visited. Students left college tour highly motivated to put more effort into their studies. In fact, a survey conducted after college tour showed that 98% of the juniors wanted to apply to colleges they were not previously considering.

“There were so many amazing schools that we saw on college tour but my favorite was Davidson in North Carolina. It was like love at first sight, you can’t really explain it but the second I stepped off of the bus I knew that that was a school for me. I would tell the incoming juniors not to judge a school by its football team or the girls/guys but judge it by what you feel fits you best,” junior Alexander Elortegui said.

Although college may sometimes seem like a distant goal in the future, it is key to think about goals and aspirations. As sophomores, most students do not give much thought to the difficulty of the application process and the need to persistently work hard throughout high school. College tour is an eye-opening experience, and the class of 2017 will have the opportunity to experience the most widespread college tour to date.