There
are no bad colleges or universities in the U.S., only bad fits between
students and institutions. One of the best ways to find a great college
that fits your student's interests, needs, and goals is to pay a visit
to a campus.
Here are a few tips to help you plan a great college visit
trip:
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| Campus tour during Curiosity & Catfish event at Millsaps College |
- Start local, and start early. When your student is a sophomore or junior, visit a few colleges near your home, even if they’re not on your student's list of colleges. Visit a big university and a small college; see a rural campus and a school located in a city. A few "practice" visits allow you as a family to see a diverse set of schools and become comfortable with the visit experience. You'll hear a lot of facts and figures, some of which you may be familiar with, but others might demand a follow-up question to explain what those numbers mean. Listen to the questions asked by other families who are visiting. Let your child get comfortable taking ownership of questions about the application process, academics, and extracurricular activities. As the search process becomes more serious, all of you will be more prepared when you visit colleges where you have a deeper interest.
- Explore college websites. Most colleges have lots of information about visiting posted on their websites under "Admission" or "Prospective Student" pages. You can often find directions, travel advice, information about lodging, and the tour and information session schedules.
- Arrive prepared to ask questions. Most of the basic facts about a college will be listed online, in brochures available in the admission office, or relayed during the information session. If you can familiarize yourself with some basic information before your one-on-one time with the admission staff, you can ask questions with some depth. Hopefully, the answers will provide a level of understanding that you couldn’t get from the web or in print.
- Make your visit official. While it’s best to plan ahead, even if you stop by a college unannounced, you should go to the admission office and let them know you’re there. Even if you’ve missed the scheduled session and tour, they’ll likely have a map or a self-guided tour to help you navigate the campus, and an admission officer might be able to say hello and answer a few questions. Plus, many colleges track who has visited the campus as a marker of demonstrated interest in the school, which might be a tie breaker or get your student on (or off) the wait list if their application is borderline admissible.
- Thank your tour guide. More than likely, the student who showed you around isn’t paid for their time, and volunteers because they really love their college. Show him or her some gratitude and let them know if they did a good job. I promise they will appreciate the feedback.
- Treat your visit like an interview; even when it’s not, it actually might be. Some schools offer formal interviews during a campus visit (or even off-campus), but every interaction you and your child has with a school official is likely being recorded, and could be factored into their admission decision. Dress for success, act appropriately, and stay engaged – you can send that text message from the car after your visit!
- Customize your visit. The visit experience will serve as a proxy for the experience your student will have after they enroll, so make the most of it! Ask if your student can sit in on a freshman class, meet a professor, or attend a meeting of a club or team they might really want to join later. If a school treats you like a number when they’re trying to recruit you, conclusions can be drawn about how actual enrolled students feel. Make sure you can get what you need out of the visit.
- Expand your visit off campus. Particularly for a campus in a residential or urban area, ask about where students go off-campus, and include some time to see the sights. If they say that students easily get internships nearby, but the business district is far away or not easily accessible, make a mental note. If you hear about a fun college-town atmosphere, ask for specific spots to check out!
- Meet some students, and not just your tour guide (who generally receive significant training on what to say). If you have the opportunity, meet a bunch of students in the dining hall or outside the bookstore, and ask them how their real-life experience compares to what you heard during the tour and info-session. But remember, one apathetic student might not be a representative sample either, so talk to a few groups or individuals.
- Get an insider’s view. Most colleges hold large open house events, which can be great opportunities to visit on a weekend and get lots of information from a cross section of administrators, faculty, and students. But don’t let these big events replace an opportunity to let your child experience a typical day as a student on that campus, when classes are in session. You might also want to experience campus during the busiest times of the day, and in the evening (a future blog post will include tips on how to assess safety and security on campus). Particularly before finalizing a decision between a short-list of a few schools, your son or daughter will benefit from visiting on a weekday and going to classes, eating in the dining hall, and just hanging out with real students. The school on their short-list may look very similar on paper, so your student might need to use their gut, and their visit experience, to make a final choice.
Of
course, you’re always invited to visit Millsaps College, and I think
you’ll have a great experience. Use this link to review our visit
recommendations and call Stacie for help customizing your day at the
most prestigious liberal arts college in the Gulf South… and let me know if we do a good job of following our own advice!
