Some general questions about college visits

Parents Forum
1

Hi. I have a D19 and we have apparently been slacking on the college visit department because we haven’t been to any yet. We have our first visit scheduled next week and I have some questions. We signed up for the basic admissions presentation/tour that was offered on the website. But I see people mention on here that they are sitting in on classes or meeting with professors, etc. during their tours. How do you set something like that up? The school we are seeing is a local state directional so D would be applying to their honors program. She wants to go to medical school and plans to major in biochem or something similar. She is also interested in playing in their marching band, although she will not be a music major – in fact, the availability of a marching band with a pit is what is primarily driving her college selection, so I think it is important that she get a good sense of what the marching band will be like. (At this school, I’m not as concerned about that as she has several friends who are already there in the marching band so she has a good idea of how it works…but that won’t be the case for other schools she is considering.)

So I guess besides the tour, what should we look to set up for the day - any benefit to meeting with the honors program people? Or trying to meet with the band director? Or maybe the pre-med advising department? Or should we stick to trying to find a meeting with a professor in her potential major or sitting in on a class? Or trying to find out about research opportunities? And exactly do you go about finding a class to sit in on or figuring out who is doing research you might be interested in?

Oh, also, we are seeing her top 2 local picks during this spring, but won’t be able to see any farther-away schools until summer. I know summer is not ideal because the full student body isn’t there, but that’s the only time available due to my work and her extracurricular commitments. Is there a better time (we are free mid-June through end of July-ish) within the summer to visit schools? I would be trying to combine a bunch of schools on one big loop through New England, so I won’t have the luxury of picking different weeks for different schools based on their class schedule…just looking for general guidance of when might be the best week.

Thanks so much for any advice – sorry if these are stupid questions but she is my oldest so this is all new to us!

2

Call the school(s) before you go and set up a meet with the department(s) that are important to your D.

You can probably set up classroom visit(s) on the same call. However, another school of thought is that you do NOT do a deep-dive on the 1st visit, and save the classroom visit(s) and other meetings until you have visited more schools. Then, you only have to drill down on the schools on your Final Choice List.

I don’t know anything about marching bands, BUT… my D met with coaches from her sport on her visits - she emailed and/or called ahead to set this up.

TIP: Go to cafeteria(s) to check on food options, and the local towns to get a feel for atmosphere, and to check on how far away it is from campus. Also, if you can see more than 1 dorm, that is helpful. Some schools only let you see a model dorm room. Good Luck and have fun!

3

When we visited many of the schools asked when the trip was set up who else we wanted to see and the admissions department set it up. If it wasn’t an option on the web site when we made the visit we called the admissions dept (or the contact that was listed for campus visits and asked if they set these up or if we did. We had a handful of each.

Every school we went to (all large schools) we visited the Honors college, head of the dept he wanted to major in, pre-vet advisor, and travel abroad office. (We also visited with the vet school and toured the vet school when they had one). We didn’t sit in classes until later in the process and a second visit.

4

One good piece of advice I got when we were visiting colleges was to make sure you see whatever part of the school is important to your student. SO if they are big on working out - visit the gym, if food is important - visit the dining halls, etc.

First visits are usually less deep. I would think the one area to possibly “dig deep” on would be marching band. Not sure you can meet the band director at each school - those logistics might be hard to arrange, but maybe a student in the band who could answer questions. Typically the tour guides and students who work in admissions have diverse backgrounds and it might help to ask if any have band experience.

At many colleges after the initial presentation the tour guides introduced themselves. We would choose the guide who had interests that aligned with my daughter’s.

5

Also keep in mind you are reading what some parents are doing on CC…these tend to be the most involved.
We never sat in on classes. I would only do that if your child is super academic and is very particular about how classes are taught or what the peers are like or whatever.

For the first visit, it should be more about:

  1. This is what a college is like. These are example dorms you would live in.
  2. Do you like a big college with the sports and many options but you are one of many or do you like a smaller school where you get to know more people
  3. Do you like this urban/suburban/rural type campus

I think the “sitting in a class” should be, if you need it, when you are narrowing down your top 3 acceptances.

6

I’ve never really understood the idea of sitting in on a class, unless perhaps it’s at the very end with admitted students days where you are spending a couple days at the school. My kids both went to excellent colleges, but the idea of one class as “typical” is kind of crazy. Every school has large lectures, small seminars, terrible teachers, excellent teachers, etc. etc. I’m not sure it really tells you a lot.

7

Since the ones you are seeing are local, I wouldn’t drill down on them at this point. Time for that later if they are high on the list. Go on the tours, wander around, check out the library and the dining halls. See if students are wearing school logos/T’s, etc (school spirit might be important for marching band).

Be sure to have a debriefing afterwards, where you can discuss what you did and didn’t like, what kinds of things you noticed, and so on. Make some notes, or they will all start to run together after awhile. We got to the point where we would look at each other and snicker when the guide would start spewing out “fun facts” while walking backwards.

Also, for some of the bigger band programs you can find videos posted to Youtube.

8

IMO if you are traveling any distance, I would want to attend more than just the standard tour, I would want the more in depth with presentations from Financial Aid, the student ambassadors and perhaps various departments. Many Universities host “Welcome or Discovery” days - this is where they roll out the red carpet and make the tour a day long event.

9

My d’s only sat in on classes during Accepted Students Day. I do agree with having a meal on campus and also recommend picking up the campus newspaper (that is they are still available in print). I think initial tours of schools are to sort of rule in/rule out… make some decisions about urban/surburban/rural, size of campus, campus vibe, etc.

10

Definitely ask to meet with the department head (sometimes they are busy so another professor will take his/her place). You will get the most current information that way. For example, we just visited a college and met with a professor – it turns out they are reworking the degree plan for this fall which isn’t published yet, but he gave us a copy.

Have a small list of questions ready to ask if needed. The kids can get a little nervous meeting in a professor’s office, so having a list ready helps them feel prepared and you’re less likely to forget something.

Also, ask to have lunch with current students in the same major/areas of interest. While this sounds like a minor thing, it is actually where we got some of the best information! The kids are honest about classes, professors, housing, etc. and will give your student great inside tips!

11

Thanks for all these tips. It is probably short notice to set anything extra up for a Thursday visit, but I will make some calls on Monday and see what I can do. At the very least, I guess we can wander around the department she is interested in and see if we run into anyone who wants to talk to us.

12

^When we toured my kid’s current college, we wandered the halls of the CS department (where he wanted to major) and a couple students (clever as they are :)) recognized two middle-aged people and a teenager as a “prospective” and just came up and started talking to my son about the department, and the professors, and how great it was. Made a great impression :slight_smile:

13

When I was doing research for college tours, I came across this article : https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-garry-/college-tour-dos-and-dont_b_51009.html. It is funny but true.

Best thing about the college tours was rehashing on the ride home, especially if something wacky had happened. The pre-tour session is very staged but the Q&A at the end usually yielded one wacky question from another parent that had us laughing for days.

Also, your child will not want you taking notes there, but I started writing down some thoughts right after the visit. When you see a lot of schools, the details blur.

14

Take lots and lots of notes! You’ll be amazed at how much the details blur in your mind if you don’t. And include impressions-- how warm the buildings were on a cold day, how everyone in the student center checked you out when you came in, how large the lecture halls all seemed to be.

I could never understand how other parents didn’t seem to be taking notes. It’s those little details, not found on the websites that eventually make the difference in otherwise equal schools.

Oh, and also note where you stayed and how you liked the hotel. For the school you eventually choose, that’s nice info to have. Consider joining the assorted rewards program now.

15

My daughter did sit in on two classes, but it was our 4th visit and her top choice school. (SUNY) She has some anxiety and it helped her tremendously to get a feel for what it will be like … awesome experience for her!

Oh and take lots of pictures and notes… After a while, the dorms and classrooms ect kind of run together…LOL

16

We have always made appts with depts. Right or wrong, I have idea, but we have not gone through admissions, but have contacted depts directly.

My kids search the website for the head of the dept where they want to ask questions and write a brief email introducing themselves as a prospective student and state they would like to arrange a meeting to discuss opportunities within the dept.

My kids have found these meetings invaluable. They have ruled out colleges bc of the meetings or schools have moved to the top of their list bc of them.

A few examples:
as a high school sr was dual enrolling in 300 level courses at our local U and working for a professor there. He had spent 2 summers at camps like SSP. Participating in research was one of his top filters. When we visited one dept and asked about UG research, the deans response was that as a high school student he already had more direct research experience than most of their UGs bc research was grad-focused. Ds scratched that school off his list.

At another school, we met with the dean and the UG advisor. Ds asked about UG research and the response was that most professors were too busy to take on UGs. They said every few yrs, one might take on an UG but it was very unlikely. When he asked where undergrads from their dept had gone after graduation, the 2 looked at each other and asked if they knew. They talked for a minute and could finally mention 1. When ds asked about the ability to take grad level courses as an UG (this U was in the same system as where he was DEing and had complete reciprocity), the UG advisor looked at him and told him he needed to stop rushing through classes pretending he was learning something and start back at the beginning bc he had NMF and AP Scholars sitting in his classroom crying bc they couldn’t understand anything about physics. This man knew nothing about ds at all other than the names of the courses he had already taken. (Ds had the top grade in every class he took, spent time talking with his profs outside of class asking questions not covered in class, and had profs lending him books from their personal libraries; that is why he was asked by the prof if he wanted to participate in research.) We ran from that dept. It was toxic compared to every other school we visited. (Ironically, prior to our visit it was near the very top of his list.)

At another dept, the UG dean took him on a tour of the labs, introduced him to profs, talked to him about how profs gladly took on dedicated UG students, and that he would be happy to work him on taking grad level courses. After touring and talking with ds, he took ds back to his office and told ds that ds reminded him of himself when he was ds’s age and that professors would lend him books from their personal libraries. Ds beamed and told him, yes, that had already been his experience. They continued to talk for about another 1/2 hr.

Probably not hard to guess which of the 3 schools ds chose. Prior to the visits, the last school was an afterthought and not really a serious contender. After his visits (more than these 3), the last school remained his #1 choice. It was one of the lowest ranked schools he applied to, but it absolutely lived up to his expectations from his high school tour. The dept offered everything he could possibly have wanted and supported him 110% all the way through. Great professor mentors. UG research. Grad courses.

My other kids have had similar experiences where the atmosphere and interactions within the dept have given them clearer visions of what they want from a dept and where they see themselves fitting in.

Fwiw, many kids talk a lot about finding likeminded peers. Peers are incredibly important and I am not discounting their absolute need in kids’ lives, but great professor mentors are worth their weight in gold. That is the side my kids try to feel out during dept visits. So far, they have been pretty good at using dept visits to find that fit.

17

My one kid never sat in on a class until accepted student day. BUT that same kid absolutely wanted to play innthe orchestra in college…not a music major or minor. She contacted the orchestra director, the private instructor on her instrument, and the head of the music department. All met with her when we went to visit…the private teacher for the longest. Kid did this at every college we visited.

None of these folks were available to meet on weekends…but weekdays worked fine…and they were happy to have the conversation.

So…have your kid send an email about her enthusiasm for continuing music as a non-major. She can include that she is visiting in blah blah date, and ask if there is a time the could meet!

18

How does you daughter feel about sitting in on a class? For the first round of visits, many find they are still determining what type of school they would like. Local visits are good for getting the feel of the school. If she likes the local schools, she would have time to sit in on a class fall of senior year, or do an overnight, if they remain on her list. We found the schools further away take more thought and planning.

For my S18, we did further visits spring break his junior year, and then again summer between junior and senior year. Summer is not ideal, but you can still determine the definite no’s. We visited five over the summer and he decided two stayed on with eventually applying to one as he changed his mind about majors and one was not strong in his major. You asked if there is a better time in the summer. Check the school calendars as some may have a special summer day. If she is interested in one specific school, it may be worth it to try and match up the trip with those days.

Good luck and enjoy the journey. A lot changes in a year and it will go by fast!!

19

Most importantly, keep your mouth SHUT on opinions until your kid has downloaded their thoughts. We encouraged our kids to walk closely to the tour guide… that way they can chat informally and/or hear other questions posed by individually. I bought a Moleskine notebook, and took it to all visits. Before we walked/drove away, we would stop at the cafeteria and I would write down every pro and con and observation from my daughter. I wrote my own as we went along, but didn’t give a single opinion out until they were done. Too easy to sway them!

20

I remember when we visited MIT with my daughter (a strong STEM candidate), at the end of the visit she was very reserved. We finally got out of her that she really hated it, and was afraid her parents would be upset. Quite the contrary, but I absolutely agree that it is important to let the student’s opinions come out freely.