<p>First off, I apologize if this is in the wrong forum. I will be visiting colleges during the summer this year, but I got to this late and so all the appointments for student-guided tours are filled up. My question is do you have to go on those tours to put your name down on their prospective applicant list? My teacher said that there is some list they have on campus where you put your name down. It supposedly looks better when you apply to the school and your name pops up in their list. I am hoping that I can just visit on a random day and find the admissions office to write my name. Thanks if anybody can help! I will mostly be visiting UC campuses.</p>
<p>Hope it isn’t too late to bump this thread a little.</p>
<p>Some colleges YES. UCs no.</p>
<p>It’s not the tours themselves that really matter.</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities track applicants’ demonstrated interest in the school, and consider applicants’ interest as a factor in admissions. And other colleges don’t.</p>
<p>In general, highly selective institutions don’t track applicants’ interest. Harvard, for example, knows that it’s Harvard, and Harvard can safely assume that the majority of its applicants are pretty darn interested. Large public universities also tend not to track applicants’ interest. They process tens of thousands of applications every year; they know they’ll get enough applications to fill their freshman class. So, for UC’s, it probably doesn’t matter at all, as T26E4 said.</p>
<p>But since you may apply to some other colleges and universities, too, I’ll add:</p>
<p>It tends to be small to medium-size private colleges and universities, below the highest levels of selectivity, that track applicants’ interest. In these places, taking a campus tour is one way for a student to show interest. But there are others. Even if you don’t take the student-led tour, you can often stop at the admissions office, register your visit with them, and get materials for a self-guided campus tour. If you can’t visit campus, you can email the admissions office to ask them whether there will be an admissions officer or alumni volunteer visiting your high school this year, or attending a college fair in your area. Then make a point of talking to that person when he or she is in your area. Make sure he or she gets your name, and take his or her business card. Some colleges and universities also have ways for students to demonstrate interest online–online information sessions, and so on.</p>
<p>This is late but thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>I don’t know why you think that the UC tour spots have filled for the entire summer…at UC Irvine, prospective students just show up at the tour time and go. There is a book-ahead process for large groups, but not for individual students and their families.
Even at schools that require reservations (like the Ivy we toured this week), many students still just showed up without a reservation and went on the tour without a problem.</p>
<p>UC’s don’t really care…I visited UCI…I got in about 7 years after I visited, so I’m sure my name didn’t crop up again on some list…</p>
<p>Tours are so boring… 0_0!..</p>
<p>As for UC’s…The best ones are UCB, UCSB, and UCLA. UCI is pretty good too… AVOID RIVERSIDE!!</p>