Planning college visits

Tips for College Visits

• Always register with the Admissions Office even if you don’t plan to go on the official tour. It’s important that they know that you visited and record the visit in your file as an indication of you ‘demonstrated interest’.

• Register for an on-campus interview if offered. This is a great opportunity to express your interest in the school and get any open questions answered.

• If time allows, you should attend the official tour and presentation. During the official presentation, you’ll glean a lot of great information from the admissions team about what they are looking for and the types of students who succeed at the school. The tours are generally led by students and give you an opportunity to ask the guide questions about their experience at the school. Keep in mind though that the tour guide works for ‘admissions’ so they have a vested interest in ‘selling you’ on the school.

• You should also take time to walk around campus outside of the official tour. Eat lunch in the student cafeteria. Hang out in the common squares/lawns/courtyards where students are congregating. Observe how the students are interacting. What are they doing? Do they seem happy? Could you see yourself here in a year or two?

• Visit the library. Observe how the students are studying. Are they interacting with others? Working in groups? Or are they mainly studying on their own? What is the academic vibe?

• Talk with existing students whenever possible. Introduce yourself and explain that you’re considering attending this school. Ask them what they like and what they don’t like about the school. Most students are pretty willing to talk about their experiences at the school.

• If you have the time, reach out to admissions to inquire about sitting in on a class of interest. You admissions rep will let you know if this is possible and how to get the appropriate permission. Observe the lecture. Are students engaged or busy looking at their phones or laptops?

• Once you have narrowed your selection of schools down to a few choices, try to arrange an overnight visit. This will be a great way to get a real sense of the school and what it would like to a be a student there.

• Keep in mind that you are only seeing a ‘day in the life’ of the school you are visiting. Try not to make quick decisions on just one data point. For example, if you have a tour guide that drives you crazy don’t assume the entire school is like the tour guide.

Timing

• Avoid visiting during school breaks or during finals or reading week. You want to experience the school during a ‘typical’ week. Summer, spring break, or Christmas break might be a good time for you to visit but you won’t really get a feel for the school during these times.
• Visits made during exam weeks might leave you with the wrong impression of the school as social activity will be light and students will be studying more intensely.

Logistics

• Take lots of pictures to document your visit. Use the time after the visit to record notes on each picture to jog your memory down the road about the school.

• Take lots of notes during the presentation and tour. This won’t seem important at the time but once you have visited several schools they will all kind of ‘blend together’ in your mind. Good notes helps to keep them straight.

• Keep in mind that you will likely be writing a ‘why are you interested in THIS school?’ essay about those that you decide to apply to. It’s really important in these essays that you show true knowledge and interest in the school.
  You will likely refer to these pictures and notes often as you write these essays.

• Stay overnight in the town where the college is located and check out what types of things there are to do there? Does the town seem friendly to students? Is it easy to get around? Could you see yourself living here for four years?