College Tour 2015

Our Rating: A

During the week of Oct. 25 to Oct. 30, the Class of 2017 juniors got to experience colleges outside of Florida. They explored 10 colleges and universities in three different states: the Georgia Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, Davidson College, Elon University, Sewanee: The University of the South, High Point University, Emory University, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and Duke University.

As the first university to be seen by the curious juniors, Emory University was sure to blow them away. However, because the tour was on a Sunday, students weren’t able to get the full experience of the school.

On the second day, Davidson College took the juniors on a tour with a different spin. With a smaller population than Gables at 2,000, the college evidently focuses on student-teacher interactions. Its unique honor code drew the students into its trustworthy atmosphere.

Students later got to experience the extreme school pride of UNC at Chapel Hill. Many juniors began to exude blue and white. It gave a sense of the real college experience. Many of our students drank from the infamous water fountain from the well for good luck with admissions.

“UNC was my favorite college from the tour due to the beautiful campus and awesome traditions they had, such as the Davie Poplar tree and the Old Well! Also, the environment presented itself as spirited and filled with kind-hearted people,” junior Kimberly Molina said.

Elon University was all about feeling at home. Alongside its acorn ceremony and beautiful brick buildings, the university also  had incredible diversity of students. When it came time to visit Duke, it unfortunately rained again and students didn’t get to completely witness its beautiful dark gothic architecture.

High Point University presented the students with its luxurious campus. With its own arcade, sports grill and movie theater, students were astonished. Students also received complimentary food tickets to eat at their dining hall.

“College tour was informational and educational. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone trying to go out-of-state,” junior Gabriela Vega said.

Although there was only one chaperone for the tour at Wake Forest University, students were still able to get a full glimpse of the wonders at Wake. Students got a tour of one of the freshman dorms, which many seemed to like. Sewanee, the University of the South, presented the juniors with an amazing experience with nature and amazing athletic facilities.

“It was a great experience and it made me realize that there are various great colleges that I never knew existed,” junior Alex Rabell said.

The juniors then had a seven hour drive to Nashville, Tennessee for the long-awaited Vanderbilt University tour. With a detailed tour by two Vanderbilt students, Gables juniors fell in love with the campus and the amazing study programs the school had to offer.

On the fifth and last day of the trip, the students had the opportunity to visit the great campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. The Hispanic organization at the university gave the students an informative session and tour of the school. Juniors were also able to sit down with many other college students that are part of the organization to ask them more about their experiences as students at Georgia Tech.

As a final bonding activity, the juniors got the chance to walk on the Atlanta Belt Line. International Baccalaureate history teacher Mr. De Armas later united five of his close friends from his time at Emory University to give the juniors information about their experience during college, studying abroad and taking on new challenges.

During the week long college tour, the class of 2017 juniors were able to gain loads of information about each of the universities. Many of them were able to open their eyes to the variety of beautiful campuses that are available to them outside of Florida. Be sure to check out the hashtag #CGCT15 to see all of the pictures from this year’s college tour.