We found the tours pretty helpful, but after the first couple of info sessions my DC announced we were through sitting through them. I agreed, for the most part.

We found the tours to be very helpful, but we also enjoyed exploring the campus on our own. In addition to the official tour, try to have lunch in the cafeteria,and stop by the student center and the library on your own. Take a walk through the college town. That was very helpful to get the 'vibe' of the students, the overall environment and the school. In some cases, it helped my DC to add/cross off those schools from the list. For the schools that remained, it showed 'demonstrated interest' - even if the school says that they do not consider it, it was helpful to mention the tour in an essay or in the interview.

We found that there's no need to do the info session AND the tour, and that you're better off doing the tour - much of the same info, plus you get to see the buildings and actually get more of a conversation and less of a scripted presentation than in the the info session.

I second the advice about splitting your group up and listening to a few different guides' introductions before deciding who to go with. Admissions officers might tell everyone in your section of the room to go with a certain guide but no one is ever going to call you on switching groups.

I did hear about one top ranked school that keeps a super duper secret list of people who go on official tours and that it could be a "tiebreaker." Just kidding. Or am I?

Anonymous wrote:I was a tour guide in college for the admisisons office tours. I really do recommend it. We went into dorms and classroom buildings that weren't generally open to the public, and as a tour guide, I had several training sessions to make sure I was knowledgeable (or knew what I didn't know and where to point them)
They usually aren't too long, and well worth the time, I think.
A college visit isn't like visiting a new country for two weeks. You have a very limited time to get a whole lot of information. There's nothing to be gained by discovering the secret-hidden-gem-of-a-cafe-down-the-street if you aren't allowed to see the main dining hall.

Fortunately, you understand the importance of being knowledgeable before presenting a tour. We have been on numerous tours. The absolute outstanding was done by a finance major at UPenn who was not only knowledgeable about Wharton, he knew the in and out of the Nursing school and all the other schools. He was a wealth of information including campus and city history. This young man, however, is the exception to the rule.

The worst tour was at Yale where the young woman spent a good 30 minutes standing on the steps of a building discussing and quizzing about her favorite ice cream and that of the students in the crowd. I realize she was trying to create a festive environment, but after 20 minutes even the students were anxious to move on.

Usually large info sessions afterward are broken into groups in the immediate vicinity. We move around discretely listening to the introductions and then quietly move to a group that has a well-versed guide. We have done it four times. But we still appreciate everyone who has volunteered their time to conduct tours.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Very helpful insights, everyone. Thank you. I think we will register for the tours, if only to get a peek inside the dorms and off-limits buildings.

Right, keep in mind that dorm buildings on most campuses will be locked (even at my DDs remote SLAC), as will some other buildings, so a tour is the only way to see them.

OP here. Very helpful insights, everyone. Thank you. I think we will register for the tours, if only to get a peek inside the dorms and off-limits buildings.

My DC found it valuable to talk to the guide. If your DC is STEM, make sure you also sign up for the engineering tours. The kids tend to offer up more detailed departmental information than can be covered in the general info and tour sessions. Also, most ended up volunteering to take my DC along to a class.

We found the tours and guides super helpful. The info sessions not so much after the first few, but we still did them at most schools. We always left enough time to wander campus on our own, visit the bookstore, go into the town if that was relevant.

We found it valuable to do the guided tour and hear one student's perspectives, where you can ask very specific questions about the things DC cares about, then stay for an additional hour or two to wander around, maybe get a snack, and generally observe the students interacting.

I was a tour guide in college for the admisisons office tours. I really do recommend it. We went into dorms and classroom buildings that weren't generally open to the public, and as a tour guide, I had several training sessions to make sure I was knowledgeable (or knew what I didn't know and where to point them)
They usually aren't too long, and well worth the time, I think.
A college visit isn't like visiting a new country for two weeks. You have a very limited time to get a whole lot of information. There's nothing to be gained by discovering the secret-hidden-gem-of-a-cafe-down-the-street if you aren't allowed to see the main dining hall.

If nothing else, it gives you a chance to see inside dorms and sometimes other buildings that are not open to the public.

Anonymous wrote:About to make our first round of college visits over spring break and curious to hear from experienced parents if you and your child felt that the official guided tours were a valuable experience or not? In my personal travels I'm not one for guided or packaged experiences, preferring to discover things on my own just by exploring and talking to people. But perhaps the tours provide access to places and insights I can't get to on my own.

What would you recommend as the best way to experience a campus on a short visit?

Whether you do the official tour or not, your child should connect with the admissions office - even just through the online form.

Schools track students who visit - and some track things like campus visits to gauge a student's interest in the school (also whether emails from the schools are opened, links clicked, etc). They want to accept students who really want to be at their isntitution and are likely to commit if accepted. Not a big factor by any stretch but a close call might go with the student who has shown more interest in them.

If you are asking will visiting the university make any difference to the application, the answer is "no", because at most we toured, no names were given. A small college might do an interview, but my college no longer does. As for will it help your DC make a final decision, most definitely. It's also good to have been on campus so your chilid can mention that in the side essays come application time. But beware that your spring break may also be the school's - you don't want to tour when classes aren't in session.

About to make our first round of college visits over spring break and curious to hear from experienced parents if you and your child felt that the official guided tours were a valuable experience or not? In my personal travels I'm not one for guided or packaged experiences, preferring to discover things on my own just by exploring and talking to people. But perhaps the tours provide access to places and insights I can't get to on my own.

What would you recommend as the best way to experience a campus on a short visit?