In February, College Possible Chicago took 79 high school juniors to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, marking our second trip to Badger Country! This visit continues to strengthen the partnership with the university that began in 2024, further expanding students’ exposure to selective colleges.
This year, one of the College Possible staff members on the trip was Freddy Vorlop, a junior coach at Mather High School and recent alumnus of UW-Madison. He was thrilled to attend the trip and answer any questions that students had. “Being back on campus, I enjoyed seeing the school from a new perspective and thinking about whether it would be a good fit for the students I work with,” he said.
Students toured campus and enjoyed lunch at a dining hall, getting a sense of what it would be like to attend the school. Afterward, they had the opportunity to ask a panel of College Possible students at UW-Madison about academics, housing and what they enjoy most about the school.
Students have varying levels of interest in leaving the city or state for college, but experiencing a variety of campuses is key to finding the best fit academically, financially and socially. “When I was in high school, campus visits helped me understand that I wanted to attend a big school,” Freddy said. “UW-Madison’s new BANNER program was designed to make UW-Madison more affordable for out-of-state students, so it’s a good option to get them excited about.”
One of the highlights of the day was an admissions presentation with a hands-on exercise where students reviewed application essays, letters of recommendation and activities lists from sample students and decided who they would admit to the university. This activity lined up with College Possible’s curriculum, as juniors have been filling out brag sheets, which they use to request letters of recommendation from teachers. “It was great that students could see that the work they’re doing now will pay off when they apply to college next year,” Freddy said.
At the end of the day, students had the chance to meet representatives from every college at the university. They took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and collect materials to bring home. “Students were so excited, talking about how they could see themselves at UW-Madison and wanting to visit more campuses, too,” Freddy said. “This is why campus visits are so important to the college process for high school students: they motivate them to keep going.”
