<p>I have a number of schools on my list that are in the midwest and northeast. I live in Texas, and due to financial limitations I won't be able to visit the schools I'm interested in.</p>
<pre><code> How do I get a good feel for the school? I've read in numerous posts here that studentsreview.com is not very reliable....can anyone help? Most of the schools I'm looking at are lesserknown and there isn't much information about schools out of the top tier on this board. Is there a site similar to this one that gives the inside scoop on colleges?
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<p>Read the posts in the specific colleges here, get reviews from people who have been there, visit the livejournals of the colleges, call the admission office to see if they can have a current student talk to you, read their online newspapers, visit your career center for a list of your high school's past students who went there, hmm.. that's all I can think of. </p>
<p>It'd all be word of mouth from all I can say, you really should visit it. I had financial limitations as well, so I didn't visit any colleges before I applied (I did what I mentioned above) and visited the ones I got accepted at. (Well, I got accepted to all, sigh, so I went to visit them all. It was a long road trip, we hit them all at once.)</p>
<p>You will never be truly sure about a school, even with a brief visit. I went to summer school at a college between 11th and 12th grade, and when I came back for undergraduate studies, the experience was completely different. I am glad that I did go to summer school, so that I wasn't completely naive about the college, but freshman year was a whole new ballgame!</p>
<p>College visits are a necessary but overrated part of the admission process. The biggest benefits are the focus and intensity that a visit gives you (in other words, better than reading a two-paragraph description of a school and then going back to your homework or IMing a friend) and the chance to talk to real live students about their school. And I believe that smart high schoolers can scope out the kids on campus and make a reasonable assumption about how they would fit in there. </p>
<p>Another benefit, at selective private universities and liberal arts school, is the famous "demonstrated interest" that leads adcoms to believe they have a decent shot of convincing you to come.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, after a tour of a dozen schools in 2003 the biggest takeaway for me was how accurate the school descriptions are in the Fiske Guide.</p>
<p>I think visits are important because they let you figure out your own perspective of the college. Other accounts of the college are written from other people's experiences and personal preferences and so might not be accurate when applied to your own style. That being said, I think if you read a lot of different point of views about the college, not just from one source but from various people, you can get a general idea. I also recommend looking at the website in depth, you can find a lot of good information there if you search deeply. Also, visit some colleges around your area to see which ones offer the best fit for you and compare them to the ones you're considering. </p>
<p>I do think visits can be overrated mainly because people don't spend enough time on their visit getting a really in depth and truthful look at the college as well as its still a simulation of what would be going on if you were there, you can never know exactly what the college will be like over a long period. Still, once you get accepted, it'd probably be a good idea to check out the campus of the one(s) you'd like to go there before you commit if possible. And I agree about interest, make sure you send emails, phone, meet with a representative in your area to show your interest.</p>
<p>The best you can do is talk to students and ask them detailed questions not on the basic things you find in college guidebooks but in quality of life things, how their schedules (bot academic and extracurric) are, etc.</p>
<p>aroundthecorner gave some really good suggestions. I think that visiting colleges is very important, but as reidm and other point out they can't convey all the facets of the "true" experience you will get if you actually enroll. Fact is, without a crystal ball nobody can tell how you'll get along with your roomates, how many friends you will make, if you will like your profs, and so on.</p>
<p>There is a good deal of value in visiting schools if you can; sometimes you have a gut reaction that says love/hate and that's worth listening to even if you can't list the reasons you feel the way you do. So when you get down to choosing between 2 or 3 colleges after being accepted I'd recommend visiting.</p>
<p>But a more important reason to visit colleges of various types is to get a feel for how they match you and your preferences. In HS your largest class outside of gym is probably 40 people. In a large U its not uncommon to take classes in huge lecture halls with 300-500 students, and ALL your classes your first 2 years may have 100+ in them. Visiting and seeing first-hand lets you know if you're ok with that. Or a small LAC in an isolated town may be a fit for you, but visit one in your area to make sure the isolation and small-town is ok. And also try to get a feel for what the seminar-like class structure is like at smaller schools.<br>
In the end my advice is even if you can't visit your schools up-front at least visit schools of their type in your area.</p>
<p>Collect names of kids from your area who go to the colleges you are considering, and e-mail them. If they're back home for the summer, phone them. Most students are happy to talk about their colleges.</p>
<p>Look at the college websites for student clubs that match your interests -- whether the Undergraduate Physics Students Association or the Tai Chi Club. Usually those will have e-mail addresses for some members, the ones who put their addresses on line because they are willing to answer questions. E-mail them.</p>
<p>Once you get some replies, ask the questions that really matter to you: what do you do on most Friday or Saturday nights, how large are your classes, do you ever get a chance to talk with a professor, are most of the students from private schools, how many hours a week do you spend studying, is it easy to get a job on campus....Whatever matters to YOU and is not available on the college website.</p>