ShortCuts in This Guide

• Choose the Type of College Visit that Works for You

  Open House

  A college open house can bring hundreds of prospective students to campus. The event may include an introduction by admissions personnel in an auditorium or lecture hall, group tours of campus, and informational sessions on college admissions requirements, financial aid, and academics.

  Pros: You’ll get a general overview of the college or university without having to go through a personal interview. You get to see the big picture. A college open house can offer a good first look at a school.

  Cons: Because you will be one of hundreds of students on campus, you won’t be able to ask questions or spend time visiting particular areas that interest you. You may not get a true feel for the campus because there will be many more people on campus than usual.

  Group Tour

  To make the best use of staff and volunteer tour guides, many schools hold group tours. Visiting students may have private interviews with admissions counselors before or after their tour, but campus tours follow a set schedule.

  Pros:  Other students or parents in the group may ask questions you hadn’t thought about. You’ll benefit from the answers to their questions.
  Cons: Because the group tour follows a set itinerary and schedule, you won’t have time to linger in a building or campus area that interests you. Individual requests can’t be addressed during this kind of tour.

  Private Tour

  While many admissions offices prefer to give group tours, you can request a private tour of campus. You, your parent, and a student tour guide will explore campus together and either begin or end your visit with an admissions interview and possibly a meeting with a financial aid representative. If you requested it, you may be able to chat with a faculty member, sit in on a class, or eat lunch in the cafeteria.

  Pros: This visit is all about you. You can ask the tour guide about things that are important to you. You can ask to see areas of the campus that might not be on the standard tour. You may have more time to see the athletic facilities or talk with a professor.
  Cons: If you’re shy, you may not feel comfortable being the center of attention. You won’t have the benefit of hearing other people’s questions and comments.

  Specialty Event

  Campus events for prospective students with specific interests, such as fine arts, science and math, athletics, or leadership, are similar to college open houses, but they target a particular group. Activities can include participating in classes in the area of interest, meeting with faculty, and listening to panel presentations by students in the majors that are the focus of the event. 

  Pros: You’ll get to meet prospective students with interests similar to yours. You’ll meet faculty and students in your potential major. You’ll receive more in-depth information about the school’s program.
  Cons: Group tours and presentations may not give you the opportunity to ask questions. Also, because the day is geared toward presenting one aspect of the college experience, you may miss out on other facets of campus life.

• Choose the Type of College Visit that Works for You

  Open House

  A college open house can bring hundreds of prospective students to campus. The event may include an introduction by admissions personnel in an auditorium or lecture hall, group tours of campus, and informational sessions on college admissions requirements, financial aid, and academics.

  Pros: You’ll get a general overview of the college or university without having to go through a personal interview. You get to see the big picture. A college open house can offer a good first look at a school.

  Cons: Because you will be one of hundreds of students on campus, you won’t be able to ask questions or spend time visiting particular areas that interest you. You may not get a true feel for the campus because there will be many more people on campus than usual.

  Group Tour

  To make the best use of staff and volunteer tour guides, many schools hold group tours. Visiting students may have private interviews with admissions counselors before or after their tour, but campus tours follow a set schedule.

  Pros:  Other students or parents in the group may ask questions you hadn’t thought about. You’ll benefit from the answers to their questions.
  Cons: Because the group tour follows a set itinerary and schedule, you won’t have time to linger in a building or campus area that interests you. Individual requests can’t be addressed during this kind of tour.

  Private Tour

  While many admissions offices prefer to give group tours, you can request a private tour of campus. You, your parent, and a student tour guide will explore campus together and either begin or end your visit with an admissions interview and possibly a meeting with a financial aid representative. If you requested it, you may be able to chat with a faculty member, sit in on a class, or eat lunch in the cafeteria.

  Pros: This visit is all about you. You can ask the tour guide about things that are important to you. You can ask to see areas of the campus that might not be on the standard tour. You may have more time to see the athletic facilities or talk with a professor.
  Cons: If you’re shy, you may not feel comfortable being the center of attention. You won’t have the benefit of hearing other people’s questions and comments.

  Specialty Event

  Campus events for prospective students with specific interests, such as fine arts, science and math, athletics, or leadership, are similar to college open houses, but they target a particular group. Activities can include participating in classes in the area of interest, meeting with faculty, and listening to panel presentations by students in the majors that are the focus of the event. 

  Pros: You’ll get to meet prospective students with interests similar to yours. You’ll meet faculty and students in your potential major. You’ll receive more in-depth information about the school’s program.
  Cons: Group tours and presentations may not give you the opportunity to ask questions. Also, because the day is geared toward presenting one aspect of the college experience, you may miss out on other facets of campus life.

• Twenty Questions to Ask During a College Visit (Plus Nine Annoying Questions Your Parents Should Ask)

  The object of the game Twenty Questions is to get enough information to be able to correctly identify an object. These twenty questions can help you figure out whether a school is the perfect college for you. Ask them during your college tour or admissions interview.

  Five Questions To Ask the Admissions Counselor

  1. What services are available to help students make a successful transition to college life?
  2. Are most freshman classes taught by professors or by graduate students? How many students are likely to be in my first-year and introductory classes?
  3. What kind of financial aid do most students receive? What scholarship, work-study, and grant programs am I eligible for?
  4. What makes this college different from [a similar or competing college]?
  5. Do most of the college’s students get good jobs after graduation? Do many apply to graduate school? Do they have a high acceptance rate?

  Five Questions to Ask Your Tour Guide or Other Students

  1. What do students do on the weekends? Do most students go home, or are there lots of activities to participate in?
  2. Do you feel that your professors really care about you and the other students? Can you get help when you need it?
  3. Where else did you look when you were applying to colleges, and what made you choose this one?
  4. Is there anything you don’t like about this school? What do you like best?
  5. What are the top three issues that concern students here?

  Five Questions to Ask a Professor

  1. What is a typical workload of homework, papers, and tests in your classes?
  2. How accessible are you to students? Are you only available during office hours, or do you interact with students outside of class?
  3. What are the main differences I can expect between a high school and a college class?
  4. Do students have the opportunity to assist with faculty research?  Are students encouraged to pursue their own research?
  5. What do you like most about teaching here? Why did you decide to teach at this school?

  Five Questions to Ask Yourself

  1. Will I fit in with the students I’ve seen and met during my visit?
  2. Will the academic programs challenge me and prepare me for a career?
  3. Are there clubs, activities, and organizations that interest me?
  4. Did I feel welcomed by the staff and students? Can I picture myself living here for four or more years? 

  Nine Annoying Questions Your Parents Should Ask

  1. What is college campus safety like? Can students request escorts to their dorms late at night? Are there emergency call boxes throughout campus? What kind of training do campus security personnel receive?
  2. What security measures are in place in the dormitories? How is access to the dorms controlled?
  3. Can students have overnight guests? Are there rules about visitation by members of the opposite sex? Are there any single-sex dorms? How about substance-free dorms?
  4. What academic and emotional support systems are available to students? Do you have a counseling center? Is there tutoring help available?
  5. What medical services are available on campus? Where is the nearest hospital? How are students billed for medical services? Is student health insurance available?
  6. Is there much partying on campus? Are there certain activities that are grounds for expulsion? Will I be informed if my child does something illegal?
  7. How are roommates chosen? What is the process for handling conflicts or incompatibility between roommates?
  8. What is the return rate for second-year students? What are some of the reasons students leave or transfer?
  9. What is a typical financial aid package like? Do most students receive financial aid? Can you help us with the financial paperwork? Under what conditions might my child lose financial aid?

• Twenty Questions to Ask During a College Visit (Plus Nine Annoying Questions Your Parents Should Ask)

  The object of the game Twenty Questions is to get enough information to be able to correctly identify an object. These twenty questions can help you figure out whether a school is the perfect college for you. Ask them during your college tour or admissions interview.

  Five Questions To Ask the Admissions Counselor

  1. What services are available to help students make a successful transition to college life?
  2. Are most freshman classes taught by professors or by graduate students? How many students are likely to be in my first-year and introductory classes?
  3. What kind of financial aid do most students receive? What scholarship, work-study, and grant programs am I eligible for?
  4. What makes this college different from [a similar or competing college]?
  5. Do most of the college’s students get good jobs after graduation? Do many apply to graduate school? Do they have a high acceptance rate?

  Five Questions to Ask Your Tour Guide or Other Students

  1. What do students do on the weekends? Do most students go home, or are there lots of activities to participate in?
  2. Do you feel that your professors really care about you and the other students? Can you get help when you need it?
  3. Where else did you look when you were applying to colleges, and what made you choose this one?
  4. Is there anything you don’t like about this school? What do you like best?
  5. What are the top three issues that concern students here?

  Five Questions to Ask a Professor

  1. What is a typical workload of homework, papers, and tests in your classes?
  2. How accessible are you to students? Are you only available during office hours, or do you interact with students outside of class?
  3. What are the main differences I can expect between a high school and a college class?
  4. Do students have the opportunity to assist with faculty research?  Are students encouraged to pursue their own research?
  5. What do you like most about teaching here? Why did you decide to teach at this school?

  Five Questions to Ask Yourself

  1. Will I fit in with the students I’ve seen and met during my visit?
  2. Will the academic programs challenge me and prepare me for a career?
  3. Are there clubs, activities, and organizations that interest me?
  4. Did I feel welcomed by the staff and students? Can I picture myself living here for four or more years? 

  Nine Annoying Questions Your Parents Should Ask

  1. What is college campus safety like? Can students request escorts to their dorms late at night? Are there emergency call boxes throughout campus? What kind of training do campus security personnel receive?
  2. What security measures are in place in the dormitories? How is access to the dorms controlled?
  3. Can students have overnight guests? Are there rules about visitation by members of the opposite sex? Are there any single-sex dorms? How about substance-free dorms?
  4. What academic and emotional support systems are available to students? Do you have a counseling center? Is there tutoring help available?
  5. What medical services are available on campus? Where is the nearest hospital? How are students billed for medical services? Is student health insurance available?
  6. Is there much partying on campus? Are there certain activities that are grounds for expulsion? Will I be informed if my child does something illegal?
  7. How are roommates chosen? What is the process for handling conflicts or incompatibility between roommates?
  8. What is the return rate for second-year students? What are some of the reasons students leave or transfer?
  9. What is a typical financial aid package like? Do most students receive financial aid? Can you help us with the financial paperwork? Under what conditions might my child lose financial aid?
• How to Get More from a College Tour

  A college tour is designed to make you want to attend that school. You need to look past the lovely architecture and the tour guide’s upbeat script to get a true feel for the campus. Try these tactics.
  Sit in on a lecture. See how the students interact with each other and with the professor. Could you learn in this environment? What is your impression of student-teacher relationships?
  Visit a dorm room. Most schools have several living facilities, so try to visit them all. Do you feel comfortable? Check out the bulletin boards to get a feel for student life. Are there notices about social events, community service opportunities, people needing rides home, ads for tutoring services? These notices tell you a lot about what's important to students.
  How’s the food? Visit the dining hall or the food court. Look at what it has to offer, and sit down for a meal. You'll get most of your meals here here, so make sure you like the food. Sure the unlimited ice cream looks enticing, but are there also a variety of healthy foods to eat?
  Read the paper. A school newspaper will give you a good idea of what goes on in and around campus when the school isn’t doing the new recruit dance. Look at the articles, the letters to the editor, and the ads to catch an accurate glimpse of campus life.
  Look at a restroom. Seriously, do it. Unsanitary restrooms may be a sign of other deficiencies. If the campus areas used by the public aren’t up to par, what about the areas that you don’t usually see? Peeling paint in dorms or sagging lounge furniture also tell a story you may not want to hear.

  Checklist: Did I Get Enough Information from My College Visit?

  After several college visits, your head may be spinning. Was college A or B the one with the terrific computer labs? The dorms at college C were old, but the library was state of the art. If you’ve taken detailed notes during each college tour, you’ll be able to recall your impressions once you’re home and have more time to think about your choices.
  Use this checklist to make sure you have all the information you need:

  • Academic programs: majors, class size, study abroad, research opportunities
  • Housing: dormitories, off-campus student housing
  • Campus student life: clubs and organizations, politics, social activism, entertainment
  • Athletics: organized sports teams, intramural sports
  • Student support: tutoring, counseling center, career center, computer labs, college campus safety
  • Campus facilities: library, gym, dining hall, student union, commuter lounge, performing arts center
  • Campus atmosphere: casual, formal, high pressure, laid back

  
  
  To make it easier to keep track of the colleges you visit, you can download this “College Visit Summary Sheet” from the book “Making It Into a Top College” (HarperCollins: 2009) ©Howard and Matthew Greene.
  http://www.pbs.org/tenstepstocollege/visit.pdf
  

• How to Get More from a College Tour

  A college tour is designed to make you want to attend that school. You need to look past the lovely architecture and the tour guide’s upbeat script to get a true feel for the campus. Try these tactics.
  Sit in on a lecture. See how the students interact with each other and with the professor. Could you learn in this environment? What is your impression of student-teacher relationships?
  Visit a dorm room. Most schools have several living facilities, so try to visit them all. Do you feel comfortable? Check out the bulletin boards to get a feel for student life. Are there notices about social events, community service opportunities, people needing rides home, ads for tutoring services? These notices tell you a lot about what's important to students.
  How’s the food? Visit the dining hall or the food court. Look at what it has to offer, and sit down for a meal. You'll get most of your meals here here, so make sure you like the food. Sure the unlimited ice cream looks enticing, but are there also a variety of healthy foods to eat?
  Read the paper. A school newspaper will give you a good idea of what goes on in and around campus when the school isn’t doing the new recruit dance. Look at the articles, the letters to the editor, and the ads to catch an accurate glimpse of campus life.
  Look at a restroom. Seriously, do it. Unsanitary restrooms may be a sign of other deficiencies. If the campus areas used by the public aren’t up to par, what about the areas that you don’t usually see? Peeling paint in dorms or sagging lounge furniture also tell a story you may not want to hear.

  Checklist: Did I Get Enough Information from My College Visit?

  After several college visits, your head may be spinning. Was college A or B the one with the terrific computer labs? The dorms at college C were old, but the library was state of the art. If you’ve taken detailed notes during each college tour, you’ll be able to recall your impressions once you’re home and have more time to think about your choices.
  Use this checklist to make sure you have all the information you need:

  • Academic programs: majors, class size, study abroad, research opportunities
  • Housing: dormitories, off-campus student housing
  • Campus student life: clubs and organizations, politics, social activism, entertainment
  • Athletics: organized sports teams, intramural sports
  • Student support: tutoring, counseling center, career center, computer labs, college campus safety
  • Campus facilities: library, gym, dining hall, student union, commuter lounge, performing arts center
  • Campus atmosphere: casual, formal, high pressure, laid back

  
  
  To make it easier to keep track of the colleges you visit, you can download this “College Visit Summary Sheet” from the book “Making It Into a Top College” (HarperCollins: 2009) ©Howard and Matthew Greene.
  http://www.pbs.org/tenstepstocollege/visit.pdf
  

• Take a Virtual College Tour

  When your dream college is across the country, it may not be possible to sit in on a class, eat in the cafeteria, and hang out in a dorm room. But you can still get a good idea of what the campus is like through a virtual college tour.
  Thanks to the Internet, it has never been easier to check out prospective colleges online. And you won’t just find an online version of the college brochure. Look for the following on the Web sites of the colleges you’re considering:

  • Slide shows
  • Video tours
  • Interviews with students and faculty
  • Webcams
  • Audio clips

  Want more? Search for college information, videos, and student and alumni groups on:

  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • MySpace

  There are also Web sites specifically designed to provide future college students with a virtual glimpse of hundreds of colleges and universities.  Find tour videos, maps, photos, interviews, and more on:

  • www.CampusTours.com
  • www.eCampusTours.com
  • www.collegeclicktv.com
  • http://youniversity.tv

  Finally, if you have questions, e-mail someone at the college. On most college Web sites, you can find e-mail addresses for admissions counselors, financial aid representatives, professors, and sometimes even students and alumni. Most will be happy to answer any questions you have.  Some college Web sites even have live chat features where you can converse with a college staff member through instant messaging.
  And don’t forget to visit the Web site for the community in which your desired college is located. Convention and visitors’ bureaus and city Web sites can tell you what kinds of restaurants, entertainment, and future employers are close to campus.

• Take a Virtual College Tour

  When your dream college is across the country, it may not be possible to sit in on a class, eat in the cafeteria, and hang out in a dorm room. But you can still get a good idea of what the campus is like through a virtual college tour.
  Thanks to the Internet, it has never been easier to check out prospective colleges online. And you won’t just find an online version of the college brochure. Look for the following on the Web sites of the colleges you’re considering:

  • Slide shows
  • Video tours
  • Interviews with students and faculty
  • Webcams
  • Audio clips

  Want more? Search for college information, videos, and student and alumni groups on:

  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • MySpace

  There are also Web sites specifically designed to provide future college students with a virtual glimpse of hundreds of colleges and universities.  Find tour videos, maps, photos, interviews, and more on:

  • www.CampusTours.com
  • www.eCampusTours.com
  • www.collegeclicktv.com
  • http://youniversity.tv

  Finally, if you have questions, e-mail someone at the college. On most college Web sites, you can find e-mail addresses for admissions counselors, financial aid representatives, professors, and sometimes even students and alumni. Most will be happy to answer any questions you have.  Some college Web sites even have live chat features where you can converse with a college staff member through instant messaging.
  And don’t forget to visit the Web site for the community in which your desired college is located. Convention and visitors’ bureaus and city Web sites can tell you what kinds of restaurants, entertainment, and future employers are close to campus.

• Ten Questions for Commuter Students to Ask on a College Visit

  Even if you’re planning to live at home and commute to a local college, you should still plan a college visit. You may feel that you already know the school because you live nearby, but your perspective as a student attending the school will be completely different. Remember, too, that even if you go to a school away from home, if you live in off-campus student housing there, you are considered a commuter student.

  Here are Ten Questions Commuter Students Should Ask on a College Visit.

  1. Is there an office of commuter services and/or a commuter student adviser? What services do they provide?
  2. Are there lounges for commuters? Where do commuter students study and hang out between classes?
  3. How do commuters get involved in campus student life? Are there programs and events specifically for commuter students?
  4. In emergencies, can commuters spend the night in the dorms?
  5. Is there a meal plan available for commuter students? How much does it cost, and how does it work?
  6. What is parking like on campus? What are the fees?
  7. How do I find out about public transportation? Are there any public transportation discounts for commuters?
  8. What percentage of the student body commutes? Do most commuters live at home or in off-campus housing?
  9. How do I find out about class cancellations due to bad weather?
  10. How well do commuter and resident students get along with each other?

• Ten Questions for Commuter Students to Ask on a College Visit

  Even if you’re planning to live at home and commute to a local college, you should still plan a college visit. You may feel that you already know the school because you live nearby, but your perspective as a student attending the school will be completely different. Remember, too, that even if you go to a school away from home, if you live in off-campus student housing there, you are considered a commuter student.

  Here are Ten Questions Commuter Students Should Ask on a College Visit.

  1. Is there an office of commuter services and/or a commuter student adviser? What services do they provide?
  2. Are there lounges for commuters? Where do commuter students study and hang out between classes?
  3. How do commuters get involved in campus student life? Are there programs and events specifically for commuter students?
  4. In emergencies, can commuters spend the night in the dorms?
  5. Is there a meal plan available for commuter students? How much does it cost, and how does it work?
  6. What is parking like on campus? What are the fees?
  7. How do I find out about public transportation? Are there any public transportation discounts for commuters?
  8. What percentage of the student body commutes? Do most commuters live at home or in off-campus housing?
  9. How do I find out about class cancellations due to bad weather?
  10. How well do commuter and resident students get along with each other?