<p>I have no clue. I am going to see a bunch of colleges with mom and stepdad. What should I do to prepare, should be get a guide, what? I'm clueless...</p>
<p>visit each college's website and they will give you the lowdown</p>
<p>errr, could you be more specific? and I am not referring to that only, but other things...from people who did college visits, what should I pay attention to?</p>
<p>It seems like a lot of work, but if you think you might be serious about a school you REALLY want to go when it is in session. At that point, call (or email) admissions and have them arrange the following stuff for you:</p>
<p>Sit in on class in the major you think you might be interested in.</p>
<p>Eat in the cafeteria where freshmen eat.</p>
<p>Talk to kids when you're in that cafeteria. Find out what they like and don't like.</p>
<p>Ask for a tour of the department you might major in (especially if it's science or engineering or something where you'd like to see the facilities). They will line you up with a prof or grad student - you can learn a ton from that.</p>
<p>Check out your EC! My kid likes theater, and we actually managed to attend a couple of plays. WOW. He talked to the kids in theater, got to look around. It was really nice.</p>
<p>This all seems hard -- but believe me, admissions offices do it all the time. They'll make an itinerary for you and set things up. My kid saved this sort of visit for his second round (he had a hard time deciding), but if it's a school that is far away and you think you can only visit once - do it then. </p>
<p>Really, summer visits you'll learn very little - not much more than you can see or read on their web site. Which might be fine for now, but you might want to look a little closer later on.</p>
<p>I agree with weenie. College is more than the grounds and storied buildings. You need to find out what the kids are like, the attitude the school has towards students, what they do for fun, etc. These are all things you're going to find when you interact with real students.</p>
<p>If you type "college visits" into google you'll find web pages with advice on what to do, such as <a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/visits.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/visits.htm</a></p>
<p>And any good book on college admissions (you're using one, right?) will have a chapter discussing visits.</p>