heading to a 3 day college tour-any tips?

Parents Social Lounge
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<p>True 3togo–we obssessively went to 20 info sessions. I guess the message our DS might have absorbed was, “We are looking for students who took the most rigorous courseload available and still kept working senior year.” He did force himself to work through senioritis to get good grades.</p>

<p>I would say no more than one school a day, take pictures during and notes at the end of each day and get near the next school the night before. Absolutely if your student can attend classes, this is great and if an interview is allowed, why not? I took the notes for my son and let him dictate. There is a lot going on.</p>

<p>We were all exhausted in out first round of 5 NE schools, but got better at looking as we went on. Kids zone in on what they like and don’t like. We had so much fun with this process–hope you do too!</p>

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<p>For all 3 of my kids, those info sessions were the kiss of death - after the first few, they all start to sound alike, and for my middle kid, attending an info session would actually end up putting the school on her “no” list. Take the tour, find someplace to grab a bite to eat (we’ve also had good luck with the nearby coffee shop experience - campus dining is pretty much the same wherever), if photos and notes are your thing, go for it. For one of my kids, a souvenir from the campus bookstore was the clue to whether they liked the campus or not.</p>

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<p>Lots of good advice here already, so I’ll just add the best piece of advice I was given:</p>

<p>As you wander around the campus, keep in mind that your child can get an excellent education academically in many places. Have your child really look at the other students there and ask “Are these the type of people who I can really see being my close friends for the next 4+ years?”</p>

<p>Kids have an amazing ability to discern, just by watching, which people are “their sort of people” and which are not. It can’t be just clothes and affect so there must be something in the air LOL</p>

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<p>pick up the student paper.</p>

<p>Notice: do the students smile and/or greet each other as they cross paths? Or are heads down and they don’t interrelate? This may or may not be important to your student.</p>

<p>Remember that tour guides are generally volunteers and can vary in ability. Try to help your student look beyond what the tour guide is wearing (!) --look at other students, too–and the guide’s interest in, say, a Capella singing (if that is not your student’s interest).</p>

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<p>If you are traveling a great distance, consider encouraging D to interview now because it may be difficult for her to get back later.</p>

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<p>Look into all the above mentioned but consider crime stats also. While campuses are fairly safe, surrounding areas vary.</p>

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<p>My daughter set up apppointments and talked with professors by herself. She got some great advice and insight from those visits. The professor from the school she chose told her to thank her parents for not coming with her. And he didn’t even know me!</p>

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<p>^^^ Good advice, and LOL!</p>

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<p>If you plan on attending information sessions- which can be very informative- then I’d suggest bringing a pen and paper, and definitely record the pros and cons of each school directly after visiting it, otherwise all of the schools will begin to blend together! Best of luck!</p>

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<p>didn’t read all the posts…</p>

<p>so</p>

<p>see if you can map your the travel and parking etc before you go…and if you are using public transport, a subway etc–get the info online</p>

<p>Bring parking garage stubs (if applicable) to admissions office for stamping</p>

<p>google earth is great for maps and finding hotels, restaurants etc</p>

<p>pack light</p>

<p>have your student write down reflections on dorms, food, campus, size of classes, “feel”, location, frats/sor. presence, athletics, etc etc</p>

<p>Get a copy of the school newspaper if around</p>

<p>One thing we noticed at a campus was TONS of cigarette butts on the walk ways, outside staircases, in doorways etc…</p>

<p>Ask you student open ended questions in the evening over dinner/hanging in the room…and be prepared for silence as they process…</p>

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<p>Yes, info sessions can be boring/similar. But if you are going to the trouble of visiting, you should try to attend. Higher priority would be a tour, but try to do both if you can.</p>

<p>Check to see if any of the colleges would allow an overnight visit with a host student. </p>

<p>Watch your student. Our son seems to hang closer to the tour guides when more interested. I also remember somebody mentioning that the kid “walks differently” when on the right good-fit campus… ya just know. Ah, I wish it were that simple with our guy.</p>

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<p>Agreed: the info sessions can feel like Groundhog Day :slight_smile: but you can pick up pieces of information that you may not find elsewhere. </p>

<p>Yes, much of the information is on the Internet, but my kid did not make the time to scour all the various pages on all of the schools’ sites. You may also gain information as a result of other participants’ questions (you know, the ones that you hadn’t wondered about yet), as well as get a sense of how the place is run. A poorly run and disorganized info session was a red flag to me.</p>

<p>I know our kid was in HIS spot by the way he stood and walked and the the easy smile on his face, but that was the sescond visit for the accepted student program. It was amazing!</p>