<p>I know that any college website will tell you to talk to students around campus, ask them questions, etc. And when I left for my college tour (which took me to Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Harvard, Tufts, and Georgetown), I had every intention of doing just that. Then when I arrived on campus at Princeton...I couldn't. I was shy. Also, it was exam period (at least, that was my justification in my head).</p>
<p>So that kind of set the precedent for the rest of the trip until Georgetown, where I finally did talk to one of the students. I asked her about the professors, whether she felt like she got to know them, what the students were like, class sizes, etc.</p>
<p>And now I'm just wondering: Have I missed the boat entirely, or is there anywhere where I could get a comparable opinion? Did I really miss out by not asking people questions?</p>
<p>Ask here on cc. It's better than nothing! With D's search, we got the most "telling" answers by asking people what they did NOT like. Then, you can decide if what they say makes any difference to you. If there's an area that raises a question or concern with you, then you can ask questions about that to the corresponding dept at the schools you are looking at.</p>
<p>You're definitely not the only one. I'm a REALLY outgoing person yet when we were at the colleges, I'd freeze up and not talk to anyone..when I had many questions. At my number one school, I ended up very deep in conversation with one of the tour-guides who, because of how long we'd been talking stopped feeding me little cute facts that the admin office wanted her to say. She was awesome. =] I would reccamend The Insider's Guide to Colleges. My dad told me that he even used that when he was looking at colleges and it was really insightful. It's like 20-40 dollars (no idea how much). It's definitely worth the money. They answer many questions including honest opinions of how the other students at the college are. Also, College Prowl-er is quite good for those questions left unanswered by the Insider's Guide (regarding more random...but important things).</p>
<p>You might find last year's seniors at your high school to be a helpful resource...you can ask them questions by e-mail if you're really shy. Since they have come from your same high school environment, you might find their answers more useful than a random student's opinoon.
Your guidance office should be able to connect you with alums at the schools that you're considering.</p>
<p>Also, if you use Face Book or Live Journal they usually give little clues. Most schools have pages on both, and with LJ you can ask questions and leave comments.</p>
<p>Be resourceful! Also, I second using your GC and even your teachers to hook you up with contacts.</p>
<p>There is NO WAY my junior daughter would go up to a random student and ask questions! And I'm sure I wouldn't have when I was 17! But emailing with responsive students on CC or wherever you find them is just as good.</p>
<p>While my wife and daughter went on the campus tour, I wanted around and asked 10+ students at each school "How do you like it here?" Three were at the top with 8+ students saying "great!" and around 10 had only 6 saying that. You need to ask students...it doesn't matter why.</p>
<p>what if the student just got a test back where they got a C?</p>
<p>That might change a "great" to an "ok" for a day.</p>