We are getting ready to do our first re-visit with our first child going to college. We are not visiting on a structured revisit day so are therefore following our own schedule. She is doing an overnight in the dorm, she is sitting in on a class, we will eat a meal in the cafeteria… I am thinking we will re-take the tour and see the dorms. I am looking for suggestions on other must-do’s from folks with experience in doing this. What kinds of things should we be sure to check out, questions to ask, etc. Thanks in advance.
Good for you for taking more time and effort to get another look and feel for the campus. Pick up a campus newspaper (and a city paper too) to get a feel for what is important to them, and for what is happening in the area around campus.
Take time to read bulletin boards (if they still exist!) while child is in a class. That tells a story or two about upcoming events on campus. Are there a variety of type of events, are there things that you think would interest your child? Stroll through the bookstore. Sit and have coffee and watch the students. See if you can pick out a good number of kids that might be your child’s “type” --artistic, indie, hipster, preppy, etc.
Engage random students in conversation. Especially older students, who might be more open and honest about both what they like and what they don’t like about the college. Remember that students employed by the Admissions Office are paid to be nice to your kid. You want to get past that and look for interactions with regular students.
Off campus, how far away are the essential stores? For my D, it was Walmart and Chickfila. Plan to eat somewhere near campus and ask your waitstaff about their opinion of the school.
If your child knows their potential major, make an appt to meet with a professor.
What else is important to your child–workout facilities, hiking trails, swing dance club, etc? Check out what you can about how your child can burn off stress in between classes and study times. Figure out by asking lots of students about weekends, how do they spend their time. Is this a suitcase college, with most kids packing up and leaving campus, or are there tons of things to do and a lively population of students ready to interact with your child?
Thank you @powercropper, those are all great suggestions. I appreciate them.