<p>We've toured four campuses. Two schools have strong academic reputations and I'm not too worried about my kid's needs being met, but two schools were toured in the interest of exploring different kinds of colleges. For all we know, these schools might have great depts in the areas of interest to my son, but we weren't able to learn much on the tour/info session.</p>
<p>I mentioned to a friend that from now on we'd try to make contact with a prof in son's area of interest and meet with them while we're on campus so we can gauge whether the program is one he really wants. She is married to a college prof and said that is a bad idea as they are really busy and can't meet with everyone who is mildly interested and that we shouldn't try to meet with anyone on campus until we've been accepted, etc.</p>
<p>My question: If you're touring lesser-known colleges, would it be an intrusion to find someone in your area of interest to get the particulars about the program? Certainly, if it's a school with a well-known program -- like journalism at the University of Missouri -- there's no need, but what if you're at a school that fits the bill in most ways -- size, cost, whatever -- but the tour guides aren't up to speed on every major/minor? I guess I fear there's a hidden gem in there but we'll never know because of the limited exposure on the traditional tour/info session.</p>
<p>Not at all! Many students who attend S' school said they did so BECAUSE a prof from the dept they were interested in took time to talk with them.</p>
<p>I'm going to have to second what your friend said. Professors have many responsibilities, and talking with prospective students is not going to be high on their priority list (unless your kid is a superstar). I would recommend asking for the names of students majoring in the departments your kid is interested in, and asking what their experiences have been with the school.</p>
<p>We visited an LAC with our son 3 years ago. My son had an interview. There were several questions that could not be answered by the admissions counselor. The counselor made arrangements for my son, as well as us, to meet with the Dean of the Business School! After acceptance, my son met with several professsors in the business school. </p>
<p>I have decided that if we need to be timid to meet with a college professor when accessing a school (if that is what we would like to do), then the school is not a fit. Undergraduate education is too important, and too expensive, not to get questions answered. If the focus is on "other responsibilies", then perhaps the focus is not on undergraduate/freshmen education and teaching.</p>
<p>Your mileage will (probably) vary. (I will be using my D as a data point. If that offends, please read no further). At probably half the schools D visited she was captured by an enthusiastic bio or chem prof. Of course, you have to put yourself in a position to get captured , like maybe in the hall with all the labs. And it helps to be genuinely interested in the subject matter presented. D would just be reading the poster presentations about student research and voila! Out pops a head from a doorway with a "Kinda cool, huh?". Dad would wander off and sometimes an invite to come back at a particular hour would be offered to D. It was probably (IMO) the most meaningful part of D's "recruitment" to the school she attends. Her recent national scholarship was won by research in the lab of one of these incredibly enthused professors. </p>
<p>I do agree that barging in anywhere would not be cool and IMO "canned" anything is not as good as "fresh". Again, others may have had different experiences . I have but one data point and she is an accomplished conversationalist. It may not work this way with others.</p>
<p>D is a PhD student in the Music Dep't of a Top 25 Private U in the midwest. They (whole dep't) are instructed to respond to anyone "wandering by the dep't" with a friendly..can I help you?... she has given informal tours if the timing is right, answered questions, brought a potential student in to meet a prof,etc. I would assume someone who calls ahead would be given the same or more courtesy,or someone who is in the Admissions Office and asks for some contact with a dep't.
Of course, if you just wander by you take the chance that noone will be around during the summer months except the office staffers.It may be easier to happen by a Science type dep't with labs and find people working.</p>
<p>Finding an enthused student must be a dream for any professor. Emphasis is on enthused. But I can feel for the poor wife of a professor--late again to dinner because spouse was buttonholed by an applicant.</p>
<p>My daughter did the whole tour of all Ivies and top schools. Before each visit, she emailed professors in majors of interest and head of dance departments. She got great response from many of those professors and her meetings with those professors were the highlight of her visits to those schools. A few of them even wrote to adcom on her behalf. There isn't much insight you could get out of general tours.</p>
<p>My daughter arranged to meet two professors during her campus visit. One met her in his office, spent a few minutes with her and then had arrranged for a senior, majoring in the department, to show her around the labs and answer questions. Another e-mailed back and forth, arranging to sit in on a class and even gave her the reading assignment (an obscure Dostoevsky novel) so she could follow the discussion. The prof then spent a few mintues talking to her after class.</p>
<p>The key is to be open ended in the request. Sit in on a class? Chat for a few minutes after class? Answer questions by e-mail? Look at it this way. It's a good chance to see how student-centered a school really is. If you get the brush off? Well...</p>
<p>[Q]She got great response from many of those professors and her meetings with those professors were the highlight of her visits to those schools. A few of them even wrote to adcom on her behalf.[/Q]</p>
<p>You betcha. This approach gets the student gets their most valuable insight on the college on the front end, and perhaps an admission ally later on. It's a no-lose proposition!</p>
<p>We are going on a 7 campus visit starting next week and my daughter has either called or written the bio department at most of the campuses and they have all set up meeting times with her (in most cases enthusiastically it seems). These all tend to be smaller LAC schools. We did this when we visited Harvey Mudd a few weeks ago and I think it was one of the highlights of our visit. We got to talk with several students who were doing summer research and got a much better appreciation of the department.</p>
<p>My S emailed to chairs of departments before visiting. He was extremely well received. He spent perhaps half an hour with each. In one college, the prof. escorted him to the departmental tea hour where he saw one of his idols talking to undergrads. At another, the prof showed him his lab and suggested he might be interested in listening to a lecture. The chair of another department discussed impending retirements which would affect incoming students. At another school, my S attended a lecture which really bowled him over, only to find that the prof was moving to another institution. Finally at yet another college, one prof showed him a lavishly illustrated book which S promptly ordered for himself when he got home!
I do not think that any of the profs said anything to the adcoms, and in any event, S ended up not applying to any of the colleges he visited. He got admitted to one he did not visit at all, besides the one he is now attending.:) But he found the information he gathered very helpful.</p>
<p>As an academic let me say that e-mailing the department chair or individual faculty members in advance is a very good idea. Professors are busy, but most of them take their teaching very seriously, they want to attract good and enthusiastic students, and frankly in many cases they're flattered by the attention. But it's much easier to get their time and attention if they can schedule it in advance rather than interrupting other work they're doing when you just drop by. I never turn down these kinds of requests unless I have an unavoidable conflict. Also, keep it brief: 15 minutes, 20 max, should be ample time, and be clear in advance that's all you're asking for.</p>
<p>I agree with bclintonk, my husband is very willing to talk to students, but he can't drop lab experiments at the drop of a hat. Most departments have secretaries that you can talk to about general questions and ask them if there are any professors available. E-mailing particular professors in advance also works. Most professors are more available in the summer than the rest of the year.</p>
<p>My husband is also a college professor and is always more than happy to speak with prospective students, whether it be arranged in advance or spur of the moment. If he is in his office, he will drop everything to meet with the student and parents.</p>
<p>We also were on the other side of this situation when looking at colleges for S. After the tour at one school, we decided to go back to the science building to look around a little more since the tour wasn't that great. We were met by a very enthusiastic professor from a department not of interest to S (I almost felt bad, the prof. was so looking for students!). When we said what we were looking for, he said "I'll be happy to take you there and introduce you". The prof. in S's department was very welcoming and very helpful. Unfortunately, S was not taken with the rest of the school.</p>
<p>At just about every school my D visited, she contacted professors and department heads in advance of the visit and in every case they were willing to meet. At one school (an Ivy), the professor even came in on a Saturday to meet with her! In many cases, she met with a department head. Many spent a good hour. I very much recommend doing this as part of a college visit. I do not feel that a tour and info. session are enough to get a feel. Also, try to line up meeting with current students. As well, meet with those in charge of your extracurricular interests/activities. In every case, they were very willing to meet and these were at well known universities/colleges.</p>
<p>I introduced myself to Gary Becker when I visited UChicago. He invited me into his office and we chatted for 15-20 minutes about what I wanted to study and things that interested me. He even gave me a paper he had just written because it related to my interests. Not bad for a Nobel Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom. winner. I also introduced myself to Professor Dryfus when I went to Berkeley.</p>
<p>My D meet with faculty at almost every school we visited. In each case, arrangements were made in advance. In each case the faculty interest and response was remarkable. The information and contacts were very valuable. You may also find that this also works with admissions. My D often had scheduled interviews with admissions officers. Without the discussions the college tours are not worth much. I suspect most impressions come from random comments from the tour guides and the appearance of the buildings. These may not be that reliable as criteria for selecting a college.</p>
<p>S1 also had a great experience talking to a prof at Harvey Mudd. He was wandering the halls and she came out of her office asking if he had Qs. He was a deer in the headlights at that point, but the experience made him realize what a valuable skill interviewing would be for him to develop, and what an important tool it could be in deciding where to attend.</p>
<p>Based on that experience, S contacted profs at every school he visited. Some sent homework assignments/readings that would be discussed the day S would be visiting. Virtually everyone he emailed reseponded positively. Sometimes S just asked to sit in on the prof's class. Sometimes he asked if he could drop by/stay after class to chat. Sometimes he serendipitously ran into someone in the hall. It was a HUGE part of his decision making process.</p>
<p>Did it have any effect on his admissions results? I have no idea. S certainly didn't ask any one at the schools to speak up on his behalf. UChicago was the only school on his list who even asked if he had spoken with any profs. S did a presentation at one school as part of a competition where he was observed by a couple of profs. That probably didn't hurt. ;)</p>
<p>Caveat: S1 knows what he wants to do and is very focused. He sat in on specific upper-level courses in his intended field of study and asked lots of questios. S2 is more open-ended at this point, so I'm not sure that he'll talk to profs while he's still at the fact-finding stage.</p>