<p>My family will be passing by that MA area with lots of colleges that are located near each other, and we're thinking of visiting some of them. As in, just looking around.</p>
<p>Do I have to take a college tour? We're on a tight schedule, and if tours take quite a while we won't be able to attend one.
In addition, this will be in a 2 days or so, and I'm not sure if it is too late to sign up for one.</p>
<p>I googled some things, and everyone says that I should contact the undergraduate admissions office beforehand? But I won't be able to go on a tour (most likely), so I really won't know what to say to them.</p>
<p>But I want these college visits to help aid my chances of getting into that college, then should I visit the admission office in person when I get there? I read something about having to record your name so that the admission will know that you've visited the campus before.
So how do you get your name recorded?</p>
<p>I AM ABSOLUTELY LOST. Can we just randomly go and poke around the campus? Do they mind? That would be the best thing for timing, but I also want the colleges to know that I've visited them. Sorry if my questions seems so stupid, the information I had looked up weren't specific enough, and I tend to fret over everything. So... If someone can please enlighten me. Thankyou! The more info the better!</p>
<p>Rather than just “googling around”, visit the websites of the particular schools that interest you and check out their schedules for information sessions and tours. You may find it easier than you think to set up a visit–some may allow drop-ins. You should also check the Common Data Set for each school to see whether the level of applicant interest is even considered important–if not, the visit won’t add anything to your application. And even if it is, visiting is not the only way to show interest–there’s requesting information, participating in online chats, getting in touch with local alums, etc.</p>
<p>You can certainly wander around a school without the benefit of a tour (though you may not have the same access to classrooms and dorms), but hitting a bunch of schools just to stop into the admissions office and say howdy doesn’t make any sense. If you’re truly interested in a school, take the time to attend the info session and tour and learn something.</p>
<p>thanks for your quick reply!
I’ll probably be looking more into the online chat option you mentioned.</p>
<p>-“but hitting a bunch of schools just to stop into the admissions office and say howdy doesn’t make any sense.”
Ok yeah, that’s true. I didn’t think of that. Thank you for knocking some sense into me, that kind of stopped my worries.</p>
<p>Like what @MommaJ said, you should go look at the colleges you are interested it’s website. For example some might ask you to register online (from my experience you could cancel the request if you can’t attend) or some colleges don’t need a registration (from my experience you sign up there at the campus)</p>
<p>If you have the time, I suggest you visit some colleges as it will aid you in your college search. For example if you visit BU and hate it because it’s too urban and love BC because it has more of campus feel, then it will be easier for you picking colleges to apply. </p>
<p>PS: Those two schools were the first two that popped up in my head when you mentioned Boston. I am NOT for or against any of them. Good luck! :)>- </p>
<p>If you are a rising senior, you should know which colleges might be feasible from your grades & test scores. Don’t waste time visiting campuses that aren’t in the realm of possibility (financially as well as admissions) or don’t offer your likely major. After further narrowing your visit list to schools that track demonstrated interest, make an appointment for tours at no more than one school per day. (If your time is very limited, skip the info session as most of those won’t offer much you can’t find online. Tours seem to take an hour no matter how big the campus.) Hopefully you already have an idea of whether you want urban/rural, large/small, but if you don’t, see a school of each type. Most schools won’t give you the same impression over the summer when classes aren’t in session, but a summer visit is better than no visit at all.</p>
<p>Absolutely no time for a tour? 15 minutes driving/walking through campus is still better than nothing, but know you won’t get as good a feel for the school. </p>
You’ll see the pretty grounds and get a sense of where the school is situated with regards to a local town. Maybe enough to say “I’d never want to go THERE” but for schools that pass that screen, you won’t know a heck of a lot more about them after a quick look than you do now. Not sure how helpful that’s really going to be. And, as post #5 says, what really matters is the atmosphere. Two colleges with similar-looking campuses can have an entirely different feel depending on the type of students they tend to attract, how students are treated by the school, etc. Which you find out by visiting when school is in session and talking to current students, by sitting in on a sample class.</p>
<p>Tours are scheduled to take about an hour on most campuses, and many of the highest ranked small schools (Amherst, Williams – I believe) do not take reservations in advance but just post the tour times. You can show up, make sure you sign the form saying you were there, and get an hour tour of campus, complete with student info about academics, residential life, student activities etc. Most campuses also have information sessions that happen either right before the tour or after the tour. Info sessions are also about an hour, sometimes a little longer, led by an admissions officer, offering more detail about the school and about the application process. If you are a rising junior or senior, and are looking at schools seriously, then you should make sure you sign the check in form so that the school has a record that you were there. Tours and info sessions typically are held at the same times, Mon-Fri. Some schools will offer tours on Sat but most do not do info sessions. </p>
<p>It seems like everyone has provided input answering your questions already, so I’m just going to throw in that, if you only have an hour at a college, it’s more useful, in my opinion, to do a tour than an info session. You can find most of the info from the session online on the college’s website, but the tour will give you an idea of what it’s actually like to attend the school and will give you an idea of the “campus feel.” Also, if you’re doing full visits, I would recommend not trying to do more than two in a day. It doesn’t work well (I tried to do Emerson, Northeastern, and BU all in one day some years ago, and it was a bad experience - we were so stressed and running around so much that I didn’t really get an opportunity to soak in the “campus feel” of each one. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>I second the “no more than two a day rule”. Unless the schools are right next to each other, the stress level goes way up, things blur together, and you get what’s known as “palate fatigue” in the wine tasting world. Take your time, explore, and don’t feel like you have to rush. You’re only making one of the biggest decisions of your life, take a little time to do that - it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Quality, not quantity - go to the schools that interest you the most and that you have the best chances at.</p>
<p>Then pick two schools, one large and one small that would fit the above criteria. Schedule tours at those at the minimum. The tours themselves usually take 60-90 minutes. There may be an admissions overview talk in addition which you could go to or skip. If you have time for any others, you can always do a self-guided tour. Go into the admissions office and say that you were in the area and just found out you would have time to check out their college but weren’t able to sign up for a tour and do they have information about a self-guided tour? They will take information from you at that time.</p>
<p>I think the biggest benefit of visiting is being able to talk to random students that may be able to give you a few minutes of their time. They’re the people that can give you a real perspective unmarked by university prestige or allure, which is important when deciding where you actually want to go.</p>
<p>That’s perhaps the flaw with going in the summer, but there should be some students there anyways.</p>