Good College Tours, Info sessions and why

Parents Forum
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<p>The worst student tour was Vandy. It was so completely, totally awful and off putting that it seemed to be a satire of a bad tour. I posted it as a humorous visit experience. Duke was a close, close second. As we drifted toward the back of the group at Duke to try to make a subtle escape, we met another family who said "This is almost as bad as the tour at Vandy." Both were so terrible that D couldn't imagine attending either school -- even if there were only one student of that ilk on either campus. She felt that if the school did not care to train/screen guides in a better fashion that other details would be neglected.</p>

<p>Best: UNC-CH, WashU, Rhodes, Davidson. Polished, personable, perfect.</p>

<p>Got the job done in acceptable style: Richmond, UVA, William and Mary.</p>

<p>Grace under pressure award: Sewanee. We visited during the storm of the century. A walking tour was impossible, but they rounded up endless streams of streaming students (in July!) to talk to us. We met with students in my daughter's possible major, sport of choice, etc. etc. This was accomplished quite suddenly as the storm front hit campus. We didn't get to see much; there was zero visibility from the rain. We did tour a dorm -- we followed the tail lights of our guide to get there, then she led us back to the main road.</p>

42

<p>The only thing that's better than sitting in an info session is actually taking part in one yourself. In December, the magnet school that i attend started making its annual visits to the high schools in my area trying to recruit the eighth graders to come to my school's open house and later apply and test for a place in next year's freshman class. I was one of the students that went with our principal to one of the local high schools on the list, and I really enjoyed being able to "sweeten up" the eighth graders. It was fun (even though it was strange trying to impress kids that will be taking my place at my high school next fall). </p>

<p>On a side note, the experience also made me feel really intelligent (which I don't really get too much anymore considering who my classmates are). ;)</p>

43

<p>Most Impressive information session: Yale
It was given by a young woman about two years out from her own graduation from Yale. She spoke for at least 45 min, made only three grammatical errors which she immediately corrected and never once used the word "like" to express anything but affection or comparison. The information was good as well, but watching a young person fresh out of college speak like that for that length of time was like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat. (also she was not a poly sci major)</p>

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<p>I am sorry to see that people had a negative time at Duke. My family and I had a great morning there. Everyone was so friendly and helpful and the tour guide was great.</p>

45

<p>Best info session had was at Oberlin (back 4 years) where the size was limited to who could fit around a conference table. Each prospie was introduced and acknowledged by the adcom running the session.Tour there was also well done.
Worst ever was at Indiana but it wasnt the tour guides fault, it was so cold we could barely walk and it was long..its a big campus. We finally gave up and left.</p>

<h1>2 S's favorite last summer (when he did them with a group, not with the 'rents) was at Cornell.They used a bus and the tour guide had a microphone pac,he said everyone could hear clearly.They covered lots of ground and got on and off the bus accordingly.</h1>

<p>We had a great experience at Arizona State but it wasnt just a general tour..D was identified as a potential admit for their Honors College plus their music school. We had a joint day planned where she had lunch with an Honors host,saw the Honors dorms and other facilities ,had an admissions interview geared towards scholarship opportunities,and a Music School individual info session (with the Ass't Dean).She could have sat in on classes but had an audition scheduled.We had a general University tour and then a specialized Music facitilities tour.All very accommodating.</p>

46

<p>We grew sick and tired of campus tours after about the 5th school. S found that he enjoyed MUCH more having a couple of guys from the dept he was interested in (EE) give him a personalized campus tour with a huge emphasis on the EE dept. This was easily arranged through the EE department. Interestingly, the school where he had the above experience was ultimately the one he chose to attend, University of Florida.
Just an idea for those who get bored with "campus tours." Worked for us!</p>

47

<p>P.S. to my post, forgot to mention that the "couple of guys from the dept" were undergrads (seniors) who were chosen by the EE dept for this "mission." They were GREAT and S was much more comfortable, felt free to converse along the way, yet still learned everything he wanted to know about the school and dept.</p>

48

<p>Good college tours were Reed College and UChicago (for reasons cited above). The worst was Northwestern, never felt involved, just "talked at."</p>

49

<p>Between my two kids I've been on 13 college tours! The best was probably Champlain College in Vermont. We went during our Spring break and had a tour guide to ourselves and he was in a similar major as to what my son wants to major in. Because both were into computer and techie stuff, the guide really focused on that and managed to point out every cool technology based thing they had. This guy was also into public speaking so was able to communicate well too. It's #1 on my son's list.</p>

<p>The most "professional" tour we had was at Penn State, main campus. There were two guides to a group of maybe 15 people, they did the backward walk, took us into just the right amount of academic buildings, dorm, dining halls and told us enough about themselves to make it seem personal. We also saw a good power point presentation at the admissions office by an ad com, got a pin and bumper sticker and a coupon for a free lunch. </p>

<p>Worst was hands down Bloomsburg University of PA. Part of it was probably that we had done PSU the day before and the contrast was striking. Slacker tour guide. When we asked about what was in a particular building she said something like, " oh, I think it has something to do with the honors program. I don't know, I've never been in there." Passed several buildings without saying anything. Finally, we just slunk away from that tour and joined another. I doubt she noticed.</p>

<p>The best overall presentation of a college was probably the one done by my daughter's college. This is a tiny Christian College in Illinois, so small that I'd rather not mention it's name. Anyway, they have hs kids come in groups on a Thursday and stay until Sunday. My son just went last week. Before they go they give the admissions director an idea of their interests, whether it's a major or an athletic activity or even a special project like the solar car. Friday he took four classes, one in computers and one in philosophy and then two others that I don't remember. They had also set up appointments for him with an admissions officer and the head of the comp sci department. Friday night they just hung out on campus. Saturday they took the kids into St. Louis (about 45 min. away) and I think they saw the arch, did a little shopping, etc. That night they went to a school dance, which my daughter had told him would be semi-formal so he was ready. Sunday they go to Sunday School or church and then leave. If nothing else. by the time he left he had a very clear picture of the college.</p>

50

<p>My D and I went to both UNC and Duke. </p>

<p>At Duke the tour guide was great (D and I both thought he was a looker) and he seemed like a fun, bright guy. He was very informative. Unfortunately, there was a girl with him that was "learning the ropes" and she was terrible. Introduced us to her dad who worked at Duke and it was apparent after listening to her go on for about 20 minutes that that was the reason she was there in the first place. The info. session did give us a lot of information but I had the same impression - the adcom gentleman was arrogant. He made me dislike the school altogether. This wasn't so for D..she has always loved "Duke" (or the Duke of her imagination) so I don't think anything would have kept her from applying.<br>
The UNC tour guide was good and the info session was good as well.. The campus didn't appeal to us. The rows of frats, etc turned us both off. The info. session was great. The woman adcom was a prior student and was really informative.. she kept it interesting.<br>
D did not do a tour or info session of the school she will be attending (Rice) but she absolutely loved Owl Weekend. She made her decision while she was there and still can't quit talking about how excited she is to "get going". D also went to see Univ. of Miami. She felt "out of place" there. Didn't seem to like much about it except the warm weather..and the great merit offer, LOL! She didn't do a formal info session or tour though.. just went out on her own with a friend. Didn't run into a lot of people who spoke English which she didn't like.. Once D made her decision at Owl Weekend she didn't want to go see the other schools she was accepted at. She said she knew she would be happy at Rice so we stopped there.</p>

51

<p>Best school tours: Saint Louis U., Miami/Ohio
Acceptable: Miami/Fla, Boston U., Duke
Not great: U. of Illinois</p>

<p>And from the parents' standpoint (which doesn't mean a whit, you know) we thought Miami in Oxford, Ohio was just about the most gorgeous campus around. Red-brick, clean, school spirit (Miami colors worn by a lot of students), and the town was perfect, just enough industry to be independent from the University but it was apparent that the town would not be much without it. And the tour guides were informed, gung-ho about their school, and most importantly had NO PIERCINGS! I'd have attended there in a minute...</p>

<p>Of course, D didn't even end up applying to Miami/Ohio. After all the acceptances, scholarships and one rejection from the other schools came in, she decided at the last minute to apply to U. Iowa, my alma mater, and that's where she's heading in August. This was without having seen the campus since she was 9.</p>

<p>So to the parents of rising seniors out there, a word of advice--expect the unexpected.</p>

52

<p>Article on tours from the guide's viewpoint</p>

<p><a href="http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=39284&ntpid=5%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=39284&ntpid=5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

53

<p>Recent visit to UC Davis highlighted for us the importance of a well-informed tour guide. Our guide seemed very uninformed about basic aspects of the university. She couldn't explain the honors program, didn't know the GE requirements, didn't know if the school had any a cappella singing groups (even though she said she was into music and sang in the choir), didn't know about the amount of housing available for transfer students, didn't know if off-campus students could get a meal plan to eat on campus. She was bubbly and enthusiastic, but ended most sentences with a "So, YEAH."</p>

54

<p>Well, here goes...
Best tours: Yale, Williams, Swarthmore, Stanford
Worst tours: Amherst, Tufts, Harvard
Best info sessions: Yale, Williams, Stanford, Smith
Worst info sessions: Swarthmore, Harvard</p>

<p>Yale: This visit was just impeccable... made me really love the school. The tour guide was an actress and therefore very bubbly and enthusiastic, but tempered it well with maturity and genuine knowledge / love about/for Yale. Info session was done by an incredibly friendly 20- something admissions officer caught on the way to the gym... he conducted the session in basketball shorts and a sweatshirt. Overall amazing. Too bad I could never get in ;)</p>

<p>Williams: The tour guide was enthusiastic, friendly, engaging, and clearly loved the school. Tour itself was on bitterly cold and depressingly overcast Saturday in November, but she made up for it. Info Session was held in a cozy wood- panelled living room with a fire. Very personalized; asked us all what we were academically and extracurricularly interested in, and catered to what was said. Great impression.</p>

<p>Swarthmore: The tour guide was more serious and introverted than those at the other schools I saw, but she was still friendly, informative, and also (as in all the other good tours) exhibited a clear affection for the school. Info Session, however, was another story: the admissions officer was a complete ditz (ex: "Swarthmore is, like, a really, like, great place"). Oh well.</p>

<p>Wellesley: Info Session was very well done: informative and presented a clear picture of the school. The tour was alright, except for the fact that the guide was a Chinese International student and therefore had such a heavy accent that I couldn't understand half of what she was saying. </p>

<p>Smith: Info session was stellar, as it featured a panel of four students from each year who spoke (very articulately) about their experience there and answered questions. Tour guide was a bit obnoxious, but was overshadowed by the good vibe I got from the school.</p>

<p>Harvard: Left halfway through the tour; the tour guide was a complete "valley girl". Info session was informative and honest with the exception of the same tour guide speaking in conjunction with the adcom.</p>

<p>Stanford: Everything about it was absolutely Californian (at least in my East Coast-er view :): friendly, laid- back, enthusiastic. Great tour, great info session. Established later on that it isn't the best fit for me personally, but this was not at all colored by my time there.</p>

<p>Tufts: Awful. Left before the tour even started. </p>

<p>Phew! :)</p>