As some schools are beginning to open up for tours, I’ve decided to sign up for one for next Monday, and likely more as more schools open up. The one I’m going to next Monday is at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and it’s one guide per family, and is followed by a one on one convo with a counselor. It’s the first one I’ll be doing (on my own and with a goal of applying) and I’m not sure what to expect. What are some things I should look out for/pay attention to during the tour? For visits I’ve done to other colleges with my school, we were required to dress business casual. Should I also do that this time? My mom and younger sister are coming along (6th grader). Should they be engaged in the tour? Will the impression I (and my family) give to the guide and to the admissions counselor be a factor in my application? Should I mail in a thank you note to the office afterwards? Any advice for college visits in general is welcome.
Summer usually isn’t the best because there are much fewer students on campus. That said, it might be good to go just to see the campus. Who knows if or when visits could be shutdown.
Watch other students. Do they seem happy? Talk to as many students as you can. Ask what they like about the school. Ask what they dislike.
Visit as many presentations as you can, especially if it involves your prospective major. Ask questions.
Try the cafeteria food. See a dorm. Walk around off-campus to see what the community is like.
If you can stick around or go back at night to see what’s going on around campus is a good thing to do.
Find out if you’re talking to your admissions counselor for your area or just anyone that happens to be working during the visit. A thank you email is OK. Business casual dress is good. Parents and sibs typically can go but are optional.
Get some swag.
@chmcnm Thanks for the advice. The entire thing is one on one and nothing is indoors, so some of those things won’t be possible this time, but I’ll keep them in mind for future visits.
Regarding the tour, I think you should just use it as an opportunity to see the campus and ask the tour guide some “real life” questions about what it’s like to be a student there. It’s always hit or miss with the tour guides, but if you get one you can relate to, it can be valuable. We always toured as a family, I don’t think there’s any issue with that, and I really wouldn’t worry about the impression you are making on the guide. With respect to your meeting with the counselor, usually they are happy to come out and greet the family members before going off one on one with you - no idea what the protocol will be now. I would prepare for the conversation, both so you can use it to gain information that will be useful to you and so you can make it clear your interest in the school is genuine. Spend some time looking at the website so you understand how the school presents itself, what it offers, etc. That should help you frame some good questions (as opposed to asking for information that’s easily available on the site). At this stage of the process, you are the customer, so think of the meeting as a way to ask questions rather than as a way to impress the counselor - asking smart questions and showing real interest will be impressive in and of itself.
HWS is a gorgeous campus! We toured twice and I think it is a great place to start.
Good things to ask about are how much time do students spend studying during the week and what do they do on the weekends? If you are an athlete or looking for Greek life (or trying to avoid it), ask specific things about those. A good tour guide will tell you why they applied and chose the school at the end but if they don’t, feel free to ask. HWS has an amazing study abroad program so if that interests you, ask about that, too.
The one-on-one with the AO will be very casual and a chance for you to ask general questions. It won’t be like the admissions interview, most likely, because my guess is it takes place of the big info sessions they normally do. Topics should stick to things that would lead you to want to apply where an interview is once you decide to apply and you have specific questions. If you feel like you made a connection with the tour guide or AO, you should feel free to send a thank you email. D20’s only sent written notes to those she interviewed with but she did send emails to a few she felt connected to earlier on in the process.
Agree with what everyone else says. No, the impression you make on the guide is not a factor. Business casual is fine, but in our many visits, by far the students were in “casual casual” lol, as in shorts and decent shirt. You’re outside and it’s hot. Families are almost always along, often parents ask a lot of the questions but this is your chance to ask!
We happened to have a one on one tour guide on a holiday and wow, was it great. We really asked that guy everything, and he was very open and forthcoming. That is a great chance to ask some things that you might not ask in a crowd (about social life, for example). I agree that this is a good time to try to get a handle on student life and experience, since you have that student at your disposal, but yes, remember it’s just the one perspective. As a parent I definitely spent a lot of our tours looking around at the other students and how they interacted with each other…that’s something you can only get on campus. I once heard the advice to ask a student what is one thing they really love about the school, and what is one thing they would change if they could. Usually you will get that “love” thing at the end, it is common for the tour guide to explain why they chose the school, but asking about something they would change can give you some valuable insight too.
Have fun!