Op here, thank you so much! Great advice!

And I had a good laugh imagining my teen dying of embarrassment as I wander the student center asking for a your guide with a fifty in my hand 😂

I once found a random guy to tour us around a college on their university subreddit. It was pretty good! I did check in at admissions and they paid for my parking.

We did tours during spring brink, 2 of 7 were booked. We showed up at the time and they were able to add us in.

Next week is one of the most popular weeks to visit schools due to spring break and many tour have been booked for months. We are going to 5 schools over break and I keep an eye on the sign up pages to see if there are better times for us. At least one appt seems to pop up each day.

First, keep checking to see if a spot opens up. Second, stop by the office to let them know you're going to self-tour and see if they have materials. They might fit you in!

If you're looking to show "demonstrated interest," you've received the right advice. Register your email prior to arrival, and there is likely a box at the admissions office with a map and QR code on the side of the building where you can register that you were there. You can also reach out to "your" admissions rep (i.e. you live in Delaware - there is someone assigned to that state in the Admissions Office) and tell them you'll be there. Perhaps they have time to say Hello.

You could also pop in at a time when there is a Tour Scheduled and see if they let you tag along. I'm positive there is one group that doesn't show up. If if doesn't work out, take your own tour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go sit in the student center or cafeteria holding a sign that says We need a campus tour $50/hr.

Will wait for your check first.

I prefer cash.

Also if you actually apply, mention something you liked as you did your self-guided tour in the "why this school" essay.

Anonymous wrote:Go sit in the student center or cafeteria holding a sign that says We need a campus tour $50/hr.

Will wait for your check first.

Anonymous wrote:We're visiting a college next week but not taking a campus tour as a friend of DD's is going to show us around for this first visit. If DD is interested we will go back at another time to do the formal tour. We did email the admissions office and they said DD should at least stop in, give them her email address and that sort of thing.

Be patient with that one. Once they get her email, whew....looking at you UChicago

Go sit in the student center or cafeteria holding a sign that says We need a campus tour $50/hr.

We're visiting a college next week but not taking a campus tour as a friend of DD's is going to show us around for this first visit. If DD is interested we will go back at another time to do the formal tour. We did email the admissions office and they said DD should at least stop in, give them her email address and that sort of thing.

Many schools also have check ins. Like a card you can slip into a box or a QR code to register your visit even at night. But yeah, I’d also email the office re: waitlist for tour. And just show up and ask at tour time.

Send the admissions office an email saying you will be there but see that there are no tours available but is there a waiting lists or someway to be informed if a spot opens up? Or ask if you can get a campus map?

We want to drop by a campus over spring break and there are no tours available. I checked and it is a school that tracks demonstrated interest. How can we let them know we were there? Is there someplace we can stop in to get info even if we can’t go on a tour?

We are new to this so I’m not sure how it all works.

Thanks!