March 23, 2022

Six Continents Represented in First International SEC College Tour

By: SEC Staff
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Six of the seven world continents and 34 countries were represented in the first ever international SEC College Tour, which was conducted in a virtual format on March 8 and March 15.

Organized by admissions and enrollment representatives from the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University, the two-day college tour was open to school counselors, students, and families from around the globe, and more than 130 joined at least one of the two hour-long sessions.

“The goal of the SEC College Tour has always been to introduce our universities to those outside of our region, and to see individuals from nearly every area of the globe connect with us was exciting,” said SEC Associate Commissioner for Academic Relations Dr. Torie A. Johnson. “We look forward to fostering these relationships as we bring the best students from the U.S. and abroad to the Southeastern Conference.”

Antarctica was the only continent not represented in the college tour by a student or school counselor.

The international SEC College Tour was modeled after recent SEC events that were conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating counselors and students were able to connect with experts from all 14 SEC universities to learn about their missions, academic and extracurricular opportunities, and admissions requirements. The webinars featured individual presentations from each SEC member, and there was a Q&A session during which attendees asked about scholarship opportunities, standardized testing requirements, and intercollegiate athletics.

The purpose of the SEC College Tour is to broadly advance the merit and academic reputation of SEC universities through outreach events, and it is one of several programs designed by the Southeastern Conference to showcase the range of accomplishments of SEC students, faculty, and administrators.

The full SEC College Tour portfolio includes in-person events for counselors each fall plus student and counselor events each spring. The Conference will also continue to conduct virtual events for domestic students and counselors, in addition to other international programs.