The campus visit is one of the most important elements in selecting the right college for you. So, as you gear up for school tours in the coming months here are some suggestions on how to maximize your time on campus. The goal of a college visit is for your student to better understand whether a particular school would be a good fit.
This is the first in a series of tips to help you plan your campus visits. We begin with some general considerations.
When to Visit a College Campus
As a prospective student, the best time to visit a college campus is when classes are in session. As my wife likes to say, this is when you can spot ‘students in the wild!’ Streets, sidewalks and walking paths will be bustling with students going to and from class, dining halls will be packed, and the campus will be alive. This will give you a better sense of whether you can see yourself attending this college.
Try to pick a time, such as February, spring or fall break, but be careful not to overlap with the college’s own spring or fall break if possible (once again, the college just won’t look or feel the same when the students are not around). Make sure you do your research and look at the school’s campus tour calendar where you can sign up in advance.
That said, it may be difficult for you and your family to take the time (and shoulder the expense) of traveling around the country during the school year. Summertime or school vacations may be the only time available to you. In that case, absolutely use the time you have available. No matter when you visit, make sure you plan ahead to get the most out of it.
Why You Should Visit a College
Try Before You Buy
It’s important to spend time on a college campus before committing your next four years to that school. You want to go beyond the school website, social media posts, brochures and guidebooks to determine your own impression of the campus. Can you see yourself at this school? Is the physical layout what you envision in a school? Is the location (urban/suburban/rural) what you had in mind? You may go into a college visit thinking you want X, but once you visit a few different schools it may turn out that you prefer Y.
Show Your Demonstrated Interest
Campus visits show colleges that you are serious about potentially applying there. This “demonstrated interest” is an important factor that many colleges take into consideration when deciding whom to accept and whom to reject. Admissions officers like to say yes to students who are genuinely interested in their community. Therefore, you need to ensure that the admissions office knows you will be coming for a visit. Sign up in advance on the admissions website. If you cannot arrive during normal office hours, or if you arrive on Sunday, email the admissions office to let them know you are visiting. You want the key decision makers to know that you are interested enough to visit their school.
Take Your Tour Late Morning or in the Afternoon
Colleges often allow for tours to begin at 9am or possibly earlier. This may be convenient for travelers, but a morning tour will give you a skewed sense of any college campus in America. Why? Because many college students do not fully wake up until mid-morning at the earliest! Classes may be in session in the morning, but you generally will not feel the buzz and bustle of any campus until late morning. So, try to schedule your informational session with the admissions office first and follow that up with your tour, if possible.
Do not Overschedule Your Week of College Tours
One of the common problems with the “grand college tour” that many families organize is that campuses all begin to look the same after a couple of days. Even for a professional college tour taker like me, I find that my eyes start to glaze over after the eighth college in three days. You will notice that most of the admissions office general sessions have the same subject matter (student research, internships, clubs, etc.) On my most recent college tours in Ohio and Boston, who knew that so many schools now have cheese clubs! My general advice is to target the three or four campuses that are most likely—given your research—to fit you well.
Don’t waste time visiting a campus just because it’s nearby or along a route. If you have invested time in researching the best colleges for you, then you should be able to eliminate a bunch from your itinerary. Usually, I advise my clients not to visit more than three or four in a single trip.
Take Your Time
How much time should you spend on campus? The simple answer: as much time as you possibly can! Where you decide to spend the next four years is a huge decision and an expensive one at that for your family. Sit in on the informational session with the admissions office, take the official campus tour, sit in on a class if possible, and explore the campus in more detail if you’d like. Don’t be afraid to just sit and watch the campus come alive. Don’t be afraid to ask a few students what they like and don’t like about their school. Go beyond the two-hour dash across campus.
Again, it’s better to visit fewer campuses, but to explore each more thoroughly and carefully than to zip from one campus to the next. So, take your time, using these tips as your guide for how best to organize that time.
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