College Visit Tips

[Anonymous]

Having now completed over a dozen college visits with DC I wanted to share a few things we found very helpful along the way - and invite others to share their tips as well.

1) Plan early - some tours fill up months in advance. Most places tend to release their dates in blocks by season.

2) If a school is more than a few hours away, plan to arrive the afternoon before and stay overnight to explore the area.

3) If you're staying overnight, stay on or as close to campus as you can (Graduate Hotels are a great option in many college towns though can be a bit pricy).

4) Take advantage options the school offers for prospective students in addition the admissions session and tour. For example, have the student reach out to see if a department visit may be possible. Most schools also offer a prospective students' day which is more robust than the standard tour, though these tend to be only a few dates each year.

5) Let the student lead. It's amazing how many parents dominate the Q&A sessions.

6) Suggest the student take notes immediately following - if not during - the visit while things are fresh in their mind. They may think they'll remember but trust me, after the 3rd or 4th visit many things start to run together.

7) If visiting multiple schools over the course of a weekend/week don't schedule more than one tour per day or you risk being rushed and/or burnout.

8) Enjoy the time with your child! It's a wonderful adventure.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. We just came back from a 10 college/7 day road trip, and sometimes packed in 2 visits per day, hours of driving apart, and... it was intense. We didn't do guided tours for all of them.

And you know what? Only one, perhaps two will make it to my child's short list!

At least we have no regrets, and we got to have fun non-college activities now and then.

[Anonymous]

That's a good list, OP.

I would add - wait until you have a fist full of offers before visiting and then narrow it down to the school of your choice.

[Anonymous]

We didn’t mind 2 visits per day if the schools were close, but agree if you are driving a great distance between them it is too hard, especially given the timing of the tours.

I’d add to eat in the cafeteria/food court if possible. You not only get to sample the food (which is important!) but see the dynamics. In some schools students self-segregated at dining tables and my DS thought that was a turn-off. His step-brother is Asian and he is white so he is attuned to that sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

Any posters willing to share thoughts and impressions about schools visited ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any posters willing to share thoughts and impressions about schools visited ?

Here goes:

1. McGill: Large uni. European style academic rigor with no hand-holding. On-campus housing guaranteed only for 1st years. Worst winters of any major northern hemisphere city, bar none. Wonderful French-speaking Montreal as soon as you get out of English-speaking campus. Friendly Canadians. International reputation. Had no idea Poutine was so heavy - must protect innards against Canadian winter.
2. Skidmore: SLAC. Good dining options, comfortable dorms. Relaxed vibe.
3. Middlebury: SLAC. January appears to be for winter sports, just one class. Known for languages.
4. Williams: SLAC. January also more relaxed with an elective. Oxford-style tutorials are popular but optional. Nice balance of activities and academics. Surprisingly good sushi on-campus.
5. Dartmouth: Undergrad-focused small uni. Students all stressed importance of studying and academics.
6. Trinity: SLAC. Lovely admissions officer who spoke with us one-on-one and sent us a hand-written thank you card for visiting campus. Unfortunately hated location near run-down part of Hardford, CT. Didn't seem that interesting.
7. Swarthmore: Most beautiful campus - an actual arboretum, complete with labels. Seemed rigorous academically.
8. Bard: Q u i r k y. The massive (ugly) sculptures on the lawn didn't help. Some buildings also looked run-down.
9. Georgetown: Medium-sized uni. A bit awkward for public transport, but comfortable-enough dorms, some overlooking the Potomac, and lovely closed campus within DC. Many famous speakers during the year. Academically-rigorous. Jesuit, so no Greek life and theology requirement taught by profs looking to debate, not proselytize. Good networking/internship opportunities in DC.
10. George Washington: Medium-sized uni. Many modern buildings. Open campus within DC, at Foggy Bottom metro station near DC center. Feels safe though. School providing greatest number of Capitol Hill interns due to proximity. Considerably less selective than Georgetown. Good networking/internship opportunities in DC.

[Anonymous]

I’ll share my DS’ thoughts even though as adults we might find some of them ridiculous. He’s the one attending so his thoughts, even if a little strange, matter. I’m paraphrasing of course but I did take notes on my phone so we could discuss later.

1. Wake Forest: Boring. Tour leaders even seemed bored. No excitement about going there. Winston-Salem is meh.
2. BU: campus is ugly. Not even a real campus. At least it’s in a good city.
3. Tufts: Tour guides love the school. Close to Cambridge which might be fun. Some parts of campus are nice, some are ugly. Medford kinda blah.
4. Tulane: People seem fun, but there is something weird about the vibe and everyone jokes about how much partying there is, not sure I can handle
5. Wm & Mary: students seem nice but a little weird. Campus is small and Williamsburg seems boring.

Of this first round of visits two stayed on the list: BU, Tufts. We still have several to visit including: Emory, Elon, Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, oh and Wisconsin because his girlfriend wants to go there but between you me and the lamppost he will hate it because of the size

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll share my DS’ thoughts even though as adults we might find some of them ridiculous. He’s the one attending so his thoughts, even if a little strange, matter. I’m paraphrasing of course but I did take notes on my phone so we could discuss later.

1. Wake Forest: Boring. Tour leaders even seemed bored. No excitement about going there. Winston-Salem is meh.
2. BU: campus is ugly. Not even a real campus. At least it’s in a good city.
3. Tufts: Tour guides love the school. Close to Cambridge which might be fun. Some parts of campus are nice, some are ugly. Medford kinda blah.
4. Tulane: People seem fun, but there is something weird about the vibe and everyone jokes about how much partying there is, not sure I can handle
5. Wm & Mary: students seem nice but a little weird. Campus is small and Williamsburg seems boring.

Of this first round of visits two stayed on the list: BU, Tufts. We still have several to visit including: Emory, Elon, Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, oh and Wisconsin because his girlfriend wants to go there but between you me and the lamppost he will hate it because of the size

Oooh, please keep posting both your thoughts as well as DS’s. This is fabulous. And entertaining! 😃

[Anonymous]

PP here — wasn’t sure you’d want my thoughts! Here they are:

Wake: agreed, student leaders seemed unenthusiastic but I didn’t let it play much of a role in how I felt about it overall. They did talk about how they are trying to better things on campus for some groups, but instead of making me feel better about it it made me a little nervous because it didn’t sound like they were trying to get at the root of the problem. Agree that Winston Salem isn’t very exciting but students said they generally stay on campus.

Tufts: Agreed that these students seemed the most excited and genuinely pleased with the school, but again these students are picked probably for that reason. However some students randomly came up to DS while he was waiting while I got coffee and they saw him carrying materials and started talking about how much they really liked the school and their community. I thought that was super nice (maybe they were plants, but it didn’t seem like it LOL). Agree with assessment about how campus looks. Some traditional nice college buildings and quads and some ugly. Nice view of Boston on the roof or the… library, I think. Will be much easier to get to into Boston.

BU: city campus, things and people look spread out, that is true but DS would apply to the honors program which would give him a quick community to be a part of if he gets in. They all stay in the same dorm. He liked the energy of Boston a lot.

Tulane: Kids made it seem almost like it was going to summer camp. There was a lot of talk about how fun it was to go out on Bourbon Street with a “shh, wink wink, we’re honestly kidding” sidebar. The campus is in kind of a transitional area, kid were told not to walk alone at night. My DS is kind of a nerd, he would have a beer or two at a party (we have allowed him to have a glass of wine or beer with dinner, DH is from a European country) but has no desire to get drunk in bars and dance on table tops before seeing a Tarot Card reader. I kind of turned me off as well.

W&M: I actually thought it was great. Students did seem nice and a little quirky but as my DS said “they’re weird” I was thinking, “but you are that kind of weird, you would fit in, I think” but kept that thought to myself LOL. I loved the compact campus and that you could pop out to get food at a non-school restaurant easily. It just seemed like a nice nurturing place to me, but I’m not the one applying! I can see how DS wants to shake the dust off his shoes and try a big city, and how Williamsburg doesn’t fit that bill.

I think he might like Emory but not sure if he will more than BU or Tufts. His uncle went there, that’s part of why he is interested. But I see him liking the vibe of a NE college more. As I said I do predict a big no to Wisconsin based on what he’s said he likes and doesn’t, plus I’m not sure it’s a good idea that they go to the same school even though I do think they get along well and I like his GF. Elon he might like because the campus is supposedly lovely and I think students are happy there, but again the surrounding area… not a NE city. Plus I think he is shooting higher so this would be a safety, I think.

I don’t know Pittsburgh or Carnegie Mellon at all aside from general impressions from reading about it/hearing what others have to say. So no predictions on this one. Pitt would also be a safety but we have heard good things and know other kids would go there and like it.

I thought he might be interested in Northeastern but he didn’t seem so interested in the whole co-op program so we skipped it.

I do feel like even though his stats are very good his list mainly consists of reaches and safeties. W&M is a target and BU regular would be but the honors is a reach too.

[Anonymous]

You all have too much time on your hands. All of this touring is unnecessary. Your kid is looking for a college, not a marriage partner. Relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all have too much time on your hands. All of this touring is unnecessary. Your kid is looking for a college, not a marriage partner. Relax.

I couldn't disagree more. As a high school student I was not allowed to "tour" colleges before committing to one. The one I picked (based solely on academic reputation at the time) was completely wrong for me. I knew it as soon as I went to orientation a month or so before the start of college. I was miserable and ended up dropping out. I wish my parents had been more open to looking at all of the schools I had been accepted to, or even before applying.

[Anonymous]

Have the kids jot down THEIR impressions, as soon as the tour is over. Otherwise, schools can get jumbled up in their minds over time. Plus, that way you will not subtly be steering the verdict.

My kid found those notes handy when she was writing supplemental essays, and deciding where to apply.

[Anonymous]

Agreed that having the student jot down or give a score of each school visited during or immediately after is very helpful. Early in the process - when the kid was unsure how just about everything except he didn't want a city college experience - we all worked out a list of schools that had the degree programs he was use to but very different in location, size etc. It really helped him focus on the things he didn't like - no really small schools, reinforced no cities, no really large schools. We found it just has helpful to find out what he didn't want as it was to find out what he did. And he really thought he'd like NC and Wake Forrest but was underwhelmed.

[Anonymous]

"You all have too much time on your hands. All of this touring is unnecessary. Your kid is looking for a college, not a marriage partner. Relax."

Agree 100%!

Wait until you've been accepted. Take them to see a small private school, a large public football school, and mid-size private and public. ANY school that meets the four categories. Include a rural if you're urban and vice versa. They need to know which vibe they're after.

AFTER they've been admitted, you can have them tour the 2-3 top ones. The exception is if you're applying ED, in which case you should visit.

The selective schools will do all the work for you by rejecting your child and making a visit unnecessary.

MAKE SURE that your child is applying to at least 2 schools that they are almost certain to be admitted to and that you can afford. That is where your time and energy needs to be focused right now.

[Anonymous]

Do NOT under any circumstances take seniors to visit schools that you cannot afford or that they have a low chance of getting into. BEGIN any visits with their safety schools. Once you've visited Stanford or Princeton nothing else looks very good.