We got department tours because my child is interested in dance as one of her major/minor choices. Her tours almost always included classes and facility tours. The school in MA she loves even made sure our tour guide was a double major in the two fields she wants to do.

A bit of a unique situation, but most schools we dealt with were very willing to get our child into whatever classes she wanted to see.

And all our tour days did include time with someone from admissions.

Most of the more detailed organized tours are for admitted students but there is nothing to stop you (or preferably your student) from being super organized and arranging meetings with advisors in the departments you are most interested in (engineering, CS, Pre-med subjects, Humanities..) Many schools have student ambassadors in certain areas that will meet with you as well. Call the admissions office and ask what might be available if your student wants to really take a deep look at a certain part of the school prior to applying and/or being admitted.

Anonymous wrote:Not till after acceptance unless your kid is very motivated and reaches out to specific departments (like the music department). Smaller schools and less selective may be more receptive to this. But get in first and then you can get more info.

+1

Used to be a lot of Q and A sessions online.

Mine didn't sit in on a class for any pre-app tours. Most detailed were department tours. Even at admitted students days, it was mostly panels. Maybe class options at 1 or 2.

This may change as we move away from covid. I noticed 24's tours did much more than 22's. For her, some schools didn't have tours, so we just wandered campus, others were entirely or almost entirely outdoors.

Tours and admitted student days for us and that was about it. Doesn't seem like much, but researched schools more than our last home purchase.

Anonymous wrote:I was just listening to a podcast and an AO said, "and if you're coming to campus for a tour, make sure you schedule an interview" and I was like .. WHAT?

That seems so 1990 to me. Do people still interview while touring?

Mine did. Worked out very well. Interview not required, but it definitely helped her show interest and connect with AO. We went in August before senior year.

Anonymous wrote:I was just listening to a podcast and an AO said, "and if you're coming to campus for a tour, make sure you schedule an interview" and I was like .. WHAT?

That seems so 1990 to me. Do people still interview while touring?

Yes. Some schools offer interviews with an admissions officer. These are great to do if offered. Plan ahead. It's a separate booking from the tour. They are nothing like the alumni interviews - they count.

Although some of it is university specific. At U Del my kid did a regular tour one day and a much more personal, 3-person tour of a particular school on a separate visit. This was before applying, offered through that school on their webpage, separate from the admissions department page.

I was just listening to a podcast and an AO said, "and if you're coming to campus for a tour, make sure you schedule an interview" and I was like .. WHAT?

That seems so 1990 to me. Do people still interview while touring?

Not till after acceptance unless your kid is very motivated and reaches out to specific departments (like the music department). Smaller schools and less selective may be more receptive to this. But get in first and then you can get more info.

Some schools offer a basic tour, some offer specialty tours of departments as well. Some offer on campus interviews with an admissions officer, most don't - but for those that track demonstrated interest, these are a great idea to do if you can. Some offer immersion days - often a fall Saturday for current seniors. It's up to your DC to decide how much research they want to put into visits and tours and interviews, balancing the balanced list of targets, safeties and reaches, and your schedule (and tour availability - keep checking back). Oftentimes a generic tour is ok bc you can get a vibe from observing students just walking around or getting a coffee on campus.

I think some of what you’re hearing about is Admitted Students Days, which is for seniors who have already received acceptances. So, yes, it could involve a second trip/visit in a year if the student is still undecided and weighing options.

After acceptances in my experience, but I'm not in on the secrets.

Kid is a Junior. We're touring now.

I hear of people sitting in classes, meeting personally with someone from admissions while on campus, etc.

When and how does that happen? I sometimes see a break-away tour for engineering or Northwestern had one for journalism, but otherwise we're on the generic tour like everyone else.

Do we need to get a shorter list and then pursue this? Does this happen after acceptances?

Someone mentioned getting to meet with a small team re: the IR school at Indiana. We would have gone to Indiana and not gotten that, and we're not doing these trips 2x.

I'm wondering how aggressive I need to be about this.