Making College Connections At BEANS Tour

Virgin Islands Montessori School & Peter Gruber International Academy (VIMSIA) Admissions Director and College Counselor, Kara Ebe, spent this past week at the Boston/Extended Area Network of Schools (BEANS) tour featuring Brandeis University, College of the Holy Cross, Emerson College, Simmons College, and WPI!

The BEANS Tour provides counselors with the opportunity to explore five outstanding colleges with your colleagues from around the world. Counselors will meet with admissions representatives, current students, faculty, and explore the cities of Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts!

 “This is a tour of five schools which provides you with a unique opportunity to see different schools and engage directly with their admissions directors and faculty then take it back to your students to share” said Ebe. Everyday attendees visited one of the five schools for an admissions overview –detailing requirements, a tour of the campus, an opportunity to engage with or hear a student led panel and a professional development session.

The host institutions determine the final participants based upon a numbers of factors—among them are geographic diversity. Because BEANS is a fly-in program, the committee typically looks for counselors from areas outside of New England, New York, and New Jersey. Additionally, they look to provide opportunities to colleagues from secondary schools that have not recently been represented at BEANS. 

Ebe was flattered by the encouraging and supportive reception from the BEANS Tour participants in response to the recent hurricanes. “Everyone of course asked about the hurricanes, but people are just so intrigued about us -especially those that didn't know we're IB. Immediately once they heard we're IB they started to inquire about VIMSIA and were impressed by what we have to offer” explained Ebe. “We haven't missed a beat with the rigor of what we offer our students, not only academically but now we have these student who are super resilient because of what they've been through” Ebe added.