<p>On average, how many terms/years does it take to graduate in my intended major?</p>
<p>What factors contribute to the variance?</p>
<p>
[quote]
How good is the faculty advising system? (for selecting courses, deciding where to apply for graduate school or job)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Of course they will all brag about the good points. Ask what the requirements are for being assigned as an advisor. </p>
<p>One of ours got assigned as a freshman to an advisor who not only wasn't a teaching member of the faculty but whose office was more than an hour walk from her dorm. This was at a HYPS school. He was less than zero help in picking classes or dealing with problems, since changes involved going to his office for a signature. If he was there.<br>
This would have been solved by her insisting on changing, but when the official campus culture is "don't worry about a major until second semester of your sophomore year", will your kid follow through on changing or just muddle through?</p>
<p>2 questions I always asked at each college information session:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is the schools history regarding "forced triples"?</p></li>
<li><p>Does the school guaranty housing for all four years?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Two questions I would now ask (unfortunately, based on experience)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is the internet speed IN THE DORM? (S was in a situation where the speed was so slow, he couldn't upload his CS homework, and couldn't even watch a Youtube video.) Of course, they would probably assure me it was "high speed internet". An overnight visit probably would have answered this question.</p></li>
<li><p>As someone else mentioned, the transferability of their college course credits. It would depend upon what college one wanted to transfer to, but S lost 6 out of 12 credits.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I wish we had asked more questions about campus security in the dorms. My daughter is supposedly in a dry dorm with a bunch of rowdies who bang on her door every night trying to get her out to drink. She hates alcohol, especially beer because at her last job. she had to dump out the beer bins and often spilled old beer and wine on her clothing, wreaking of beer on her way home. Drunks also would vomit near her after getting drunk all night.</p>
<p>My biological father released his rights to me to my adoptive father when I was 5. My adoptive father and my mother divorced when I was 10. My mother has full custody of me. Do I need to list either "dad" as my father in the application or on financial aid? My mom has since remarried, so I do have a stepfather, but legally is he responsible for me?</p>
<p>Twirl--I sent you a Private Message response to this, since it's a complex issue and also an off-topic one for this thread.</p>
<p>I think a better thing to think about is"</p>
<ul>
<li> what answers can you trust from admissions officers?</li>
</ul>
<p>I can generate a long list of ones where it has been shown that admissions officers don't answer honestly, starting with:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>How much of an advantage is it to be a legacy? (here the answer will swing wildly depending on whether it is a group of legacies or not!)</p></li>
<li><p>Do recruited athletes have an advantage?</p></li>
<li><p>Do first time to attend college kids have an advantage? (they say yes, the data says no...they're at a disadvantage, at least at elites)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The important thing isn't to ask questions to adcoms; they have well-rehearsed answers, and as newmassdad points out can "shade" their answers to say the right thing. The important thing is to talk to current students. Ask them what they like and don't, etc. The helpful replies you see above give you lots of other ideas about what to ask.</p>
<p>Just watched this video about what students wish they'd considered when choosing a college. Hope this helps:</p>
<p>Choosing</a> a College: What I Wish I’d Considered | myUsearch blog</p>
<p>You might want to ask about accreditation, depending on the type of school. If it's a junior college or career school, accreditation is important, and if they don't have the right kind, they might try to hide it. Universities, not such a factor.</p>