Hello CC community. I am the parent of son who was offered this pathway at two colleges, and I’d like to see how others are making their decisions about choosing this pathway. I thought it may be a good way to find connections for their different programs as well. Please chime in if your student (or you) have
A) committed
B) are considering and which location
[(Verto Education Experiences Abroad • Verto Education)]
C) for which college was Verto offered as a pathway?
D) If your child is military-connected and has any GI Bill available to them
From what I surmise, kids that were on the bubble for admission were offered this pathway. They are academically showing potential, but may have missed the cut on whatever rubric the school was using to judge admissibility. I personally think this is a shrewd way for colleges to keep enrollment up second semester after their December graduates leave. Verto partners with over 50 colleges and I’ve seen that this year, this is a huge venture to be working with so many schools. It’s a fairly expensive option for a semester, however if your student was going to study abroad anyway, I see it a a great option to knock general ed courses and start with a high GPA, giving them better options to enter into their chosen major.
I work in college counseling and I’m also asking out of curiosity to get a feel for how many offers each of these schools have extended. I’d love to know if you’ve been told any of the locations are full for your school.
Thank you! My son is considering Florence in order to attend CU Boulder.
William and Mary allows any student who accepts the waitlist the opportunity to do the Verto program or a fall semester in community college. Based on satisfactory completion, they then are taken into WM for the spring semester.
Hi Dexter, thanks for starting thread! My DD is WL at W&M and will almost certainly do Verto. In fact this morning I was starting to price out airfare for the program dates. She is deciding between London and Florence. Have read a lot of good things about the program and about how W&M integrates the students in January when back in Williamsburg.
I’m a W&M law school alum and love the school. It was also clear #1 choice of my DD. She applied ED and was deferred, now WL. Her stats were on the bubble for W&M, so she and I are both thrilled she has this opportunity. And she was already very interested in studying abroad at some point, so Verto appeals to her very much.
I could see how some of the downsides to it would weigh a lot more heavily if your student has other traditional fall start admissions that they like just as well as the school offering Verto, but that is not the case for my DD.
One thing to note re: your original post, the credits come in as transfer credit, so the GPA will not factor in at all to your GPA at your destination college. Something to keep in mind when considering which classes to register for. I’m advising DD to knock out science and math credits (more difficult for her) and save some of the easier stuff to get A’s when back in Williamsburg.
My S24 also applied ED1 to William & Mary and was deferred to regular decision. He went test optional (due to math score), and does not have the rigor in math that many other OOS accepted students have. He was very excited to be waitlisted , due to the guaranteed spring pathway. He did a zoom call with Verto today and it went well. We will find out more with a family zoom call on Friday and I can report back to this thread.
S24 loves history and museums. I think he could visit a different site in London every weekend for the entire 15 weeks of the Verto program and still not hit them all. He also loves to explore and is a remarkably flexible person. Study abroad could be a great fit for him, as long as the academics work out. We were counting on him being in a supportive environment with professors who want to help, peer tutors, study groups, etc. (We have a D21 at W&M now, so we know those things are available.) We’ll be asking about academic support at Verto.
One thing to note with the W&M pathways is that students must achieve at least a 3.0 or they will not be cleared to start at W&M in the spring. Math is S24’s biggest weakness (dyscalculia - learning disability), but we aren’t sure whether he should try a math class knowing how important it is that he get a 3.0. If Verto math/science classes are at the same level as W&M’s it could be risky.
S24 has some terrific offers of acceptance at other schools, but I can tell that his heart is with W&M. I’m also an alum, so I get it. Looking forward to learning more about Verto.
Same here, our daughter is on WL at Tennessee with option to do fall Verto study abroad and guaranteed admission in Spring 2026.
Have some real concerns about the lack of guaranteed housing upon return, and am trying to find someone who has done the same thing (preferably as recently as possible).
But also very interested in the London Verto experience itself. Noted on Reddit that many of the positive reviews appear to be planted (no other comments made by posters) and much of the details on the web page are fairly vague.
1st hand accounts would probably be the most helpful feedback we can get here, if anyone can find that it would be greatly appreciated!
Yep, she has been admitted to App State and ECU for Fall 2025. But her heart is set on UT (and breaking our savings!), and that currently is WL with option for Spring 2026 admission if she successfully participates in the Verto program.
Has she lived at summer camp for several weeks?
Has she been abroad before?
Can she cook for herself? Does she have go-to easy dishes? Does she know how to set up menus then shop for them? Is she comfortable with public transportation (buses, subway)?
What major is she thinking of?
Limited travel abroad, and had always been with us.
Limited cooking ability, but that includes the type of food one would make on hot plate or in a dorm setting. London is supposed to provide all meals though.
Certainly not used to mass transit, only times doing that has been with us in NYC.
And she is looking at Kinesiology with an eye to being an orthopedic surgeon or a PA if she can’t hack organic chemistry (that is why her Dad is a lawyer and gave up any pretensions at a medical career!)
We feel she could handle London ok if it were more of a typical dorm setting with kids her age and then presume they would likely travel in groups the 30 to 40 mins to the “education center”. But not so much if it were with a host family and isolated from other kids her age, etc…
My daughter was offered a Verto Fall semester with guaranteed admission to the college for Spring 26. Does anyone know why colleges are offering this program if they are guaranteeing Spring semester and why you cannot take classes at let’s say a CC instead of going abroad
I haven’t had a student do Verto London, but in general, students and counselors report great experiences with Verto programs.
This would concern me too. What help does Verto or UTK provide to help a student find housing for second semester, when they are still in London? If your D doesn’t know she should ask.
AFAIK the students do live together. If your D doesn’t know this is something else for her to ask the school and/or Verto.
You would have to ask the school why they chose Verto. One of the benefits is that there is a dedicated Verto person helping the student choose vetted classes that will transfer to the four year college. Another benefit is that the students doing the program get to know each other and build relationships before they get to college. Verto has 50+ customers at this point, and seems to be growing quickly. As I said above, general feedback is good.
Interesting that each college’s approach seems to be a bit different. @RaleighDad23 , at William and Mary, students following the spring pathway are guaranteed housing in the spring semester (though it may be upperclassman housing), and @momtofive11 , W&M also offers the same pathway for those that start at a public community college and take certain classes. I agree @RaleighDad23, Verto certainly has done a good job at self-promotion via (possibly paid) reviewers. It’s almost always the same accounts doing the reviews, and almost always that account ONLY does Verto review posts. All that said, I would like to think that W&M has done some due diligence and wouldn’t attach their name to something shady. Info about the program is on the school website, as is a list of W&M courses that have been pre-approved for transfer. And apparently an actual W&M counselor is present at one of the online info sessions.
, due to the guaranteed spring pathway. He did a zoom call with Verto today and it went well. We will find out more with a family zoom call on Friday and I can report back to this thread.