<p>These calls are becoming more common. Unless you fall into some targeted affirmative-action group or you're being invited to apply to some special program ("President's Scholar", etc), then you can probably consider it a generic call from a school that's decided that a personal touch will set them apart from their competitors.</p>
<p>As for questions, it can be hard to imagine the things that might matter in college since you've never been a college student! Here's a bunch of questions I found online once. Some you can answer before visiting, some you'd want to ask current students or an adcom (but students are likely to give more candid answers!)
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I'll break questions about college down into 4 areas: what the environment like, location/housing, what the academic life is like, and how you can prepare for life after your undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>Environment:
How many students are at the school? Are they primarily from the local area, in-state, or national? What are the students like? Are the students studying late into the nite, or socializing? Do they seem politically involved or not? Conservative, liberal, or radical? Is preppy dress in, or is it 60's attire, or what? Is the mood intensely competitive or more relaxed (you'll probably have to ask people about this)? Are intramural sports popular, and are there exercise facilities available? What do they have at the student center? Is social life organized around the greek system or more independently? Are there clubs for activities you might be interested in? What is the weather like (if you're not used to cold weather, it can be a big shock!) There's no "right" answers here, its what you want or could grow comfortable with.</p>
<p>location/housing:
2 big factors that could affect your enjoyment are: 1) is the school residential or a commuter school? 2) Is it part of a larger city or an isolated college town? There's no "right" answer here, it depends on your preferences. Housing really runs the gamut at various schools. At some places you can't even be sure of getting in the dorms as a freshman, others require you to live there 1st year, still others guarantee on-campus housing every year if you want it. Housing may be traditional tower-structure dorms, smaller dorms, on-campus apartments, suites,
etc. Dorms may be "theme" dorms; foreign language, academic, or other special-type interest. At some schools the housing is just a place to live; others organize students around a "house" that you will be affiliated with all your years there. Find out what housing is like at the schools you consider.</p>
<p>Academics:
Look at what the academic program is like. If you're not sure what you want to major in, when do you have to decide? Are classes taught by professors or TAs? Do the TAs speak English fluently (trust me, you want to ask students this question!) What is the typical class size for freshmen? For upperclass students? (be sure and ask students this, because administration numbers can be misleading, especially at larger schools). How wide an array of majors is offered? Is the program (for some majors you are considering) highly structured, or do you get a lot
of choice in electives? Ask the students how easy it is to meet with their professors; are they easily available, or is teaching undergraduates a burden to them? Is counseling provided by whoever is at the window when you walk up, or will you get a faculty advisor? Are there opportunities to do research with professors? For summer
research positions? (If you are interested in grad school, the opportunity to have a professor get to know you and your work by more than the grades you got in her/his class will be important for getting strong letters of reference). Are there seminars, or do lectures predominate? Do they have a semester overseas program? Are they on a semester or quarter system?</p>
<p>life after undergrad:
Right now it sounds strange, but also think about what you might want to do after you finish college (strange because you haven't even picked a college to attend yet!) As a general question, do many of the school's grads go on to grad-school, or do they enter the job force after college? If you have a major you're contemplating, you can be more specific; how many history majors, for example, go to grad school and where do they tend to go? Ask about the placement office; what services do they offer? What firms come to recruit on campus (ask who came this year, for example)? How about internships? Is there an internship program with companies that come to campus each year, or does the placement office merely review your resume and point you to books listing employers? Ask about the alumni; do they have a program where you can talk to alumni about their field, how they got started, etc?
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