The Campus Visit–Considering A College’s Surroundings

campus building

Previous articles in this series on visiting college campuses have focused on some general tips, practicalities, the official campus tour, and the admissions information session. When touring a campus visit, it’s important to remember that in choosing a college you are also choosing the community in which the college or university exists. So make time during your visit to investigate the town and the campus environs. You should drive into the neighborhoods that surround the campus. Be on the lookout for commercial centers near campus.

Find out if the college offers some sort of shuttle buses. Where do these go, and how regularly do they run? As you become acquainted with the area surrounding the campus.

Here are a few thing to keep in mind:

Most Students Stay on Campus Most of the Time

For some students, the primary criteria for choosing a college is it’s relative proximity to a large city. Some want to be right in the urban core. Others want the boonies. Others seek the best of both worlds. The thing I always emphasize with my students is that most students spend the overwhelming majority of their college years on the campus they have chosen. No matter whether it’s in the burg, ‘burbs, or boonies, you will spend most of your waking (and sleeping) hours in and around the campus property.

Consider Where You Will Buy Essentials

Some campuses, whether urban or suburban or rural, can be far removed from commercial centers where you might expect to do business. Where will you buy toiletries? Is there a drugstore or two nearby where you can pick up toothpaste, or do you need to drive to a shopping center? What about groceries? I used to save money by opting for a small fridge. And stocking with breakfast supplies so that I could cut down on the number of meals on my meal plan.

Think about where you’ll get your hair cut (any salons or barbershops within walking distance?). You may find ATM machines on campus, but is there a branch bank nearby? You may want to find out where are the local student haunts. Such as the local pizza joint, the Chinese take-out place, or the burger bar. You’ll normally find screenings of many films on campus. But if you want to rush out to see the latest release from Hollywood, how far will you have to travel and how will you get there?

Many campuses, whether remote or not, will have their own campus convenience stores and other amenities. So it may not be absolutely essential to have a major shopping mall right nearby. But the point of visiting the campus—and its surroundings—is to get a better picture of what your life will be like for the next four years.

Consider the Necessity of Owning a Car

The considerations above may make you think about another important life necessity in 21st century America: the car. Some campuses, no matter whether they are located in an urban, suburban, or rural setting, are oriented in a way that make it completely unnecessary to have your own, personal automobile. Mass transit options may be fantastic. Or perhaps everything you’d ever want and need is within walking distance. Other campuses may be very isolated, making it impossible to renew your toothpaste supply without a trip in the car.

Moreover, consider the activities that you plan to participate in while in college. If, for example, you choose a campus because of it’s proximity to the ski slopes, how will you actually get to those slopes? Is there a shuttle or regular bus service? It is safe to hitch a ride? Or do you need to have your own wheels? Conversely, if you want to live in the city but envision that you will want to get out and about on the weekends (to the beach, perhaps, or into the woods as an escape). How will you get there? Is public transportation available to get you where you want to go?

Keep in mind that some colleges and universities restrict which students can have cars on campus. And sometimes parking costs are prohibitive. If you think you really need to have a car, then make sure you know what the school’s policies are in this regard. Also, I’ve noticed that more campuses in urban and suburban areas becoming hubs for hourly rental car services, such as Mint or ZipCar. If you want to save a bundle on car insurance, parking fees, and car maintenance. These services will be something to check out.

Don’t Overplay Attractions That You’re Unlikely to Frequent

I hear some students (and their parents) talk about certain attractions or amenities near campuses that really don’t matter much in one’s daily life as a student. Does it really matter how far the campus is from Disneyland? If you don’t much care for museums or concerts. Does it matter that these cultural facilities are within walking distance of campus? Of course, just because you don’t have a lot of familiarity with particular cultural or physical features, doesn’t mean you won’t learn how to enjoy them.

But put the local surroundings into their proper context. How likely is it that you will take advantage of the area surrounding the campus? And please remind yourself of the first item on this list (i.e., “most students spend most of their time on campus”) before you answer that question. Once again, the campus should be the focal point of your college visit. Yet understanding the surroundings will only help you in your final determination of which college fits you best.

In our final installment on planning the perfect campus visit, we’ll wind up with some general Dos and Don’ts.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant and Professional College Tour Taker

The Campus Tour–the Centerpiece of the College Visit

campus tour

The campus tour and official information session are the focal point of any campus visit. But it’s important to remember that a lot of thought (and money) has gone into creating a wonderful experience for the visiting family (there are even consulting groups that do nothing but advise college admissions directors on how to improve the campus visit experience).

At the risk of sounding overly cynical, I want you to think about those sales pitches for time shares at resorts. If you’ve sat through a few of those—just as I have taken hundreds of tours and sat through hundreds of information sessions—you’ll probably have the right frame of mind as you enter the admissions office for the first time.

General Tips:

  • Arrive early. Sometimes visitor parking is not right next to the admissions office. Leave yourselves time to get lost and found again.
  • Sign in at the front desk in the admissions office. Colleges collect information about which applicants go on tours and which do not. You want to make sure your name is on the right list.
  • Confirm at the front desk any other arrangements or appointments you have made on campus, including meetings with professors, coaches, or interviews with admissions officers. Make sure you have phone numbers and email addresses of the people you plan to meet. The admissions staff can sometimes help you confirm these meetings.

The Tour

  1. Don’t base your impression of the school on your impression of the tour guide. Some guides are great. Some are not. Some guides are people with whom you will instantly click. Others will have personalities that turn you off. Remember that the guide is only one student of hundreds or thousands (or tens of thousands). This person is only your guide—a paid member of the admissions office staffl—and not an elected or official representative of the entire student body.
  2. Remember that the student tour guides are told which route to take, which buildings or programs to highlight, and are coached on how to answer certain kinds of questions. But there may be many questions that either too technical (e.g., “are chemistry exams normed or curved?”) or too specific (e.g., “what percentage of the student body majors in chemistry?”) for them to answer well. This is why you must find ways to get answers to those questions—from faculty, from admissions staff, or from other students.
  3. Keep in mind that the dorms shown on the tour may be the nicest on campus. Ask the tour guide about his or her freshman dorm and current living arrangements. Ask which is the worst freshman dorm on campus (and perhaps pay a visit to that one after the tour!).
  4. Similarly, the classrooms you will be shown may or may not be representative. Often you will be shown very nice classrooms; ask about the classrooms in which the tour guide is now taking classes. Where are those classrooms, and how do they compare with the one you are viewing? Are they larger? Smaller? More or less technologically equipped? You want to get a sense of the variety of classroom spaces on campus. Science students, especially, should be sure to see the science laboratory spaces.
  5. Take note of which buildings and facilities were not on the tour. If the library is not on the tour, I take it as a red flag and make a beeline for it as soon as the tour is over. If there are particular facilities that you want to learn about and that interest you (e.g., the dance studio, art classrooms, labs, swimming pool), either ask whether you will have time on the tour to visit, or get directions on where to find these places after your tour.
  6. After the tour, continue to wander the campus. Take your time. Sample campus food. Visit the student center. Pick up a student newspaper. Read bulletin boards. Wander the academic buildings, especially those in which you have a keen academic interest. And if you pass a professor’s office and the door is open, poke your head in, introduce yourself, and ask a couple of questions about the students on campus. You’ll be amazed at how forthright professors can be!

In the next installment, we’ll talk about how to interpret the official “information session” that either precedes or follows the official campus tour.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

13-year-old Verbally Commits to USC Football

Earlier this week we wrote about college athletic recruiting and questions student athletes should consider asking. This post provided great topics for students to think about as they consider athletics to be a major factor in their college search process.  However, not all student athletes are considering all of their options.
Earlier this month,  13-year-old David Sills, a Delaware quarterback  verbally agreed to an athletic scholarship from USC upon his graduation from high school in 2015.  The initial article from Delawareonline.com, talks about how the news created a media frenzy and “stunned” the sports world.
I have to say that I am pretty stunned too.
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant
 

Food Allergies and the College Search

As thousands of high school students set out to visit college campuses over the next few months, one factor that some students need to seriously consider is how the dining facilities at their favorite schools are handling food allergies. Recently, InsiderHigherEd.com published an article on the growing number of 18-year-olds who are arriving on college campuses with serious food allergies.  The article also provides a link to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network’s College Network.  This is a great resource for any student who is looking at colleges and needs to consider what accommodations can be made for food allergies.
FAAN provides a database of colleges and their “food allergy approach”. Since not all colleges are registered with FAAN, here are few things to consider if you are visiting a college and have questions about food allergies:
Plan ahead: Ask the admissions office who you should contact regarding questions you have about your food allergy.  You may be referred to someone in dining services or a nutritionist on campus.  You should try to meet with this person during your visit.
The dining experience: Make sure the dining halls will be open during your visit.  Often times admissions will give visiting students free passes to the dining hall. This is a great opportunity for you to see what foods are available and how easy it will be for you to manage your allergy.
FAAN also lists other questions to consider from how your allergy could affect your living situation to what would happen if you do experience an emergency situation while on campus.
Since eating is an integral part of our daily lives, it is important for students with severe food allergies to seriously consider how your allergy plays a roll in your college search process.
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant
Technorati Tags: college search and food allergies, food allergies on a college campus, food allergy accomodations

Yale Admissions Video–Raising the Bar in College Marketing

Well, Yale has raised the bar for new admissions videos. This is an outstanding promo video for Yale that was produced by Yale undergraduates and recent alumni. I’m sure the admissions office was delighted to assist, as well.
If for no other reason you should watch it for the pure entertainment value.

And thanks to my friend Ted Worcester for sharing this video with me. Cool stuff!

Visiting Colleges on a Budget

Last week, the Today Show featured a segment which highlighted how to visit colleges on a budget.  The suggestions included only visiting colleges that are a “good fit” for the student, try to stay overnight with a current student and organize college visits with a group.  Here are some other issues to consider when you are trying to create your visit list:
Showing interest is important.  Like it or not, most schools will consider whether or not you visited campus as a factor in the admission process.  They want to admit students who have shown interest and who are therefore, more likely to enroll.  If you absolutely are not able to visit a campus, make sure you still make contact with the admissions office.   There are opportunities to meet with admissions officers in your hometown, but you can also ask if there is an opportunity to meet with an alumnus in your area or do a phone interview.
Consider asking for a travel scholarship.  Some schools do provide travel scholarships so that prospective students can visit.  You may have to be already admitted and provide information on how a visit would be an economic hardship (sometimes this can be shown through your financial aid application or a letter from a guidance counselor).  While this may not help you show interest for the actual admissions process, it still may help you make your final decision if you are able to visit as an admitted student.
Look at virtual tours.  Reality is that most students are not going to be able to visit all of the schools they are interested in.  However, there is now plenty of information on the internet to help you get a feel for a school.
Ask a professional.  We can help you narrow down your visit list.  Contact us today to get started!
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant
 
 
 

Unusual, Trendy or Practical College Courses?

Colleges are getting creative with the courses they offer.  The Today Show featured a piece yesterday on some of the new trends in course offerings.  You can take a seminar on “The Simpsons and Philosophy” at Cal Berkeley.  At Yale, you can take “The History of Shopping”.  Rutgers is offering a course on Yankee Stadium, which has yet to draw any Red Sox Fans.  Whatever happened to underwater basket weaving?
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant
 

Application Numbers at Top-Ranked Schools

An article in Business Week published last month compared the application numbers from several top-ranked institutions.  The majority of the institutions have seen an increase in applications this year, making admission more selective than ever.  Several experts quoted in the article sight the increase in application numbers as a direct result of the economic downturn.  Students are seeking admission to top-ranked universities because they (or their parents) believe that they will be more likely to obtain a job after graduation.  Some schools have also increased the amount of financial aid available.
Meanwhile, the Yale Daily News, published an article on how their applications decreased this year, despite the trends mentioned above.  Officials at Yale are unable to pinpoint a reason for the slight dip in their application numbers and added that Yale “continues to attract top-quality candidates”.
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant

Do you need to bring a computer to college?

While most students bring their own computer to college, for others it is an extreme financial hardship. InsideHigherEd.com published an article on “Serving the Laptopless Student.” The article comments on how some schools are getting rid of computer labs to create spaces where students can use their own laptops. Other schools are continuing to add computer lab spaces for those students who don’t have their own.
If  purchasing a computer or lap top before heading off to college is a concern for you, be sure to check with the technology department at the school you are interested in. Find out how many computers are available for public use and what is the usual wait time to use a computer. Also, ask about the programs that run on the public computers. Will it have everything you need to complete your coursework? Find out what the printing policies are at the public computer labs. Will it be really expensive for you to print a 20 page paper?
Finally, be sure to ask if the school has any discount programs available before purchasing a computer at an outside store. Some schools have made “deals” with companies to sell computers on campus at a discount rate.
Katherine Price