An Essential Part of Your College Search
Whether you’re just beginning your search for a four-year college, trying to decide between two schools, or even going back to school for the first time in a few years, the campus visit can be an important part of your decision. Too often, though, people breeze through visits without making it worth their time.
Here are 5 tips to make your visit a useful and enjoyable one:
1. Talk to people.
By far the most important resource for learning about a school is talking to people who go there, went there, or work there. This is true for everything from a one-year certificate program at a nearby community college to a doctorate program at a university thousands of miles away. Admissions materials and websites are all well and good, but there is no substitute for individual experiences. Go to a cafeteria or café near or on campus and stop a couple of students and ask them politely what they think of their school. Chances are you’ll get the good and the bad, and feel a lot better about whichever decision you make.
2. Know what you want before visiting.
You should always come into a campus visit with a strong sense of what you want from a school. If you are planning on living at home and commuting to a two-year school, you might be most focused on academic issues, and therefore spend your time sitting in on classes and speaking with teachers, students, and alumni. However, if you are planning on attending a four-year college and living on campus or nearby, you might choose to focus your visit on facilities and campus life, and even look into living situations by touring a dorm or apartment building.
3. If you can, interview.
If you haven’t yet applied or if you’re application is still being processed, consider an interview during your visit. Many college admissions officers will tell you that an interview is often as helpful to candidates as it is to admissions departments. If you are going to the trouble of visiting a school, you would do well to schedule an interview while you’re there. It gives you a great chance to ask any questions you might have, and can go a long way to help you decide if a school is a good match. Furthermore, it might help you get in!
4. Sit in on a class.
It would be silly to spend your whole visit looking at gyms and living options and forget about the most important thing on any campus tour. Class, after all, is the reason you’re going to college. It’s also a great way to get a sense of the general atmosphere of a school-are people sleepy, chatty, or engaged? Are classes small, medium, or huge? Are the classrooms sweltering, freezing, or well-maintained? Visit a class; visit a couple. You don’t have to stay the whole time if you don’t want to-the most important thing is getting a sense of what an education from this institution will feel like, day-to-day. If you are applying to an online program, don’t use that as an excuse to not visit. Ask if you can virtually “sit-in” on a class-it will give you a great sense of what your own studies will be like at that school, for better or worse.
5. Eat something (seriously).
If possible, try to avoid rushing through a college visit. Chances are you’ve travelled at least a little while to get to a particular campus. Make it worth your while. Go find the campus food court, or a local student hangout, and reward yourself for a long morning or afternoon of talking with people and sitting in on classes. Have a soda or a cup of coffee and mull over everything you’ve seen. The point is to relax for a second and think about a place. Spending a few years at school is a big decision; if you’ve come all the way to see a place, you should take some time to let it all soak in. Sitting there and eating a good meal is sometimes all it takes to decide if a place feels right. Sometimes, that’s the most important thing of all.
