By Carol H Cox
For many of us, summer is the best time to head out with our son or daughter to view some prospective college campuses. Trekking to a few schools can help to underscore in the mind of high school students the importance of the college application process, as well as give the flavor of different schools.
Recently, my daughter, husband, and I visited 4 colleges in Southern California. Afterwards we hashed over each of our personal likes, dislikes, and general impressions of each school. And I jotted down a few notes, to have a written record of our visit. (My memory is famously unreliable.)
If your student plans enough ahead, he or she can arrange to get an organized campus tour led by a student. (We managed to go on tours for half of the colleges we visited.) This is the preferred method to get introduced to a school. Instead of blindly ambling around on your own with a campus map, a student-led tour can give a lot of behind-the-scenes information and a youthful perspective on what college life is like at a particular campus. Some schools also offer tours of the dormitories, where you can go inside a dorm room and experience the limited dimensions firsthand.
The more popular campuses may require you to sign-up one, two, or more months in advance to snag a spot. But if you’re too late to get one, check online daily to see if there are last-minute cancellations (which sometimes there are). Grab a spot as soon as you see one. And a few campuses even have daily tours that don’t require advance sign-up—you just show up at a given time.
Preparing a list of a questions to ask student guides can help you and your daughter or son gather information that may not be available on the college’s website. Below are 5 questions that I like to ask tour guides:
- How effective is the schools system at helping students find internships and job placement?
- What kind of tutoring support is there for students? Is it free?
- How easy is it to switch your major?
- What percentage of students stay versus go home on weekends? (Is it a commuter college?)
- What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about the school?
Of course, a college tour is basically a sales pitch to try to get your student interested enough to apply and attend the school. So take any information with a little skepticism. If you’re feeling bold, ask a few random students around campus for their personal opinions of what they like or don’t like about the school. Eat in one of the campus food courts or restaurants to a general vibe of things.
Overall, we found the campus touring experience to be fun and extremely interesting. It’s well worth the effort.
Happy touring!
(Are there any questions that you like to ask that are not typically covered by tour guides?)