<p>Does anyone else find this unusual? Why would a school NOT enlist upperclassman for this purpose? It begs the question.. Why can't they get upperclassman to do tours. I mean as a visiting parent I would prefer a satisfied senior who has an intricate knowledge of the school after having attended successfully for four years.. right. Not two freshman! Am I reading too much into this? Is this really a red flag?</p>
<p>I dunno. We've had both at different schools. One freshman stands out in my mind from ESF: I swear the girl was either seriously handicapped or on drugs. Daughter didn't even apply specifically because of the tour. Then at Albright, we had an upperclasswoman who was dumb as a board. Started the tour on a rainy, gloomy day in the academic building and didn't turn the lights on. I swear to God we were walking up stairs and down halls in pitch blackness. Anyway, we had a freshman at Moravian last week and she was fab. Great attitude, smart, insightful and funny. Anything she didn't know, she found out and she was able to cut to the chase of the freshman experience from a closer perspective. Daughter is going to Moravian and hopes to run into the young lady on campus.</p>
<p>which school was this?</p>
<p>Since you're touring with a prospective freshman, it often makes sense to have a freshman guide. They're closer to the process, they remember what it was like to be on the tours and confused, and they can answer the questions dealing specifically with current freshman requirements, and the adjustments that freshman have to make. I think those things are very important for your student, if not so much for the parents.</p>
<p>As a Freshmen who is a tour guide at my college (well, only a substitute one, but there are plenty of Frosh regular guides), let me see if I can give a little insight:</p>
<p>At Wes, tour guiding is completely voluntary and not paid, so they take who they can get (which was actually over twice as many people as needed this year...mainly Frosh). It seems to me that the majority of the guides are Frosh and sophomores. I’ve talked to a few of the older guides about why this is, and they say that it mainly has to do with the burn out factor: while most upperclassmen still love Wes, after a year or two of giving tours every week, they are sick of the job. Plus they are more likley to have a heavier workload or be more involved in other activities and not want to spare the time. Also, many seniors who have been involved with the admissions department chose to become senior interviewers if they get the job, because it pays.</p>
<p>Seems like a good idea to have freshmen give the tour. In fact, I see what that college is doing as a big plus. I also like the way that the college is empowering freshmen in that way.</p>
<p>They are closer in age to most of the high school students who will be touring, so it's more likely that the h.s. students will feel comfortable asking questions, etc. </p>
<p>Freshmen also can talk a great deal about the first year experience, which is of particular importance to students who are touring.</p>
<p>I'm sure that the freshmen also are given training to provide info about various things that they may not have directly encountered yet.</p>
<p>I</p>
<p>Actually, wouldn't it be great if you could have a freshman and an upperclassman do your tour? Then you would have the 2 perspectives and hopefully between the 2 of them they could answer most questions.
I know that the colleges depend on these students to volunteer their time ( or are some paid? ) , but they do need some sort of quality control. I have had great, good, and terrible tour guides and sadly it can affect your feelings about the school.
At one school I think my d checked out part-way through because the tour guide needed to blow her nose ( seriously..)from the first moment she spoke. It totally grossed my daughter out. At some schools we found the pat response was "it's nice, it's good, I like it"....w/o any personal experiences or additional info. I can read that on the web - I traveled here for more!!!</p>
<p>I'm just happy if I can HEAR the darn tour guide.</p>
<p>I know that prospective students are frequently warned not to place much emphasis on their admissions tour and/or tour guide("They're only volunteers...", etc.), when deciding upon which schools to apply to and, ultimately, attend. However, during your typical info session/campus tour visit, you only have contact with a very limited number of current students. So, for better or worse, the tour guide does end up representing the school in a big way. With all of the college visits that we made over the past year, I feel--like so many others on this forum--as though my daughter and I have become connoisseurs of campus tours.;) </p>
<p>The couple of times that we've had a senior/freshman duo giving a tour--at Penn State and at Clark University--it has worked out well. Those two different perspectives are helpful. Although, given that tour guides are not paid, I think that many schools would be hard-pressed to have that many students available to pair up in this way.</p>
<p>At American U, we toured the campus on two separate occasions(with two different student guides, of course). The first time our tour guide was a freshman, and the second time we were with a upperclassman. Both of them were friendly and informative, but if anything, it was the freshman guide that further stoked my D's interest in AU because, as others in this thread have mentioned, my D could relate a little more closely to her(the guide)at her early stage in her college career.</p>
<p>The best tour guide I saw anywhere was a second-semester freshman: knowledgeable, vivid, in tune with what the visiting H.S. juniors cared about.</p>
<p>Some tour guides ARE paid. It depends on the school.</p>
<p>First-years can give tours at my college (Smith), but they must first have a semester under their belts, and can't apply until the spring. But yes, depending on the year of the tour guide the perspective can be different. First-years are more aware of the first-year experience, while seniors have more perspective on upper-level classes and leadership oppurtunities.</p>
<p>It was a lesser known college in the Northeast. I don't want to impugn any institution as using freshman may not be thier norm. From my perspective I would rather have a voice of experience, ie., an upperclassman. That way perhaps we can hear more fully about travel abroad, internships, whatever they have experience OVER TIME at the particular college. Being told "not sure" or "I'll have to check" means hanging around after the tour, calling, or being called later. I just think a college would want to put thier best foot forward and do it with an experienced voice vs. someone who was on the very same tour a year ago.. and is now guiding it. Maybe a sharp freshman can pull it off, but the TWO we had failed miserably. Hell, offer the upperclassman some carrot if you have to. Those are all potential admits and their parents. Why take a chance and send them away unsatisfied. You can always have a freshman tag along and give the freshman, albeit limited, perspective.</p>
<p>I'm with Weenie. At the end of our spring break college tour, I pulled the family over the the student with the loudest voice. </p>
<p>BTW, we had freshman tour guides at most of the schools that we toured. The tours are blending into each other but I remember lots of Freshman. One Senior, he was the best guide of the whole week, impressive kid and great tour guide.</p>
<p>On last week's college tour, we had a marvelous freshman guide at Muhlenberg. She loved the school, obviously, but she was also an excellent representative/salesperson. She was well-informed, enthusiastic, humorous, and generous with her time. I'd never previously had a freshman guide, and this one was a complete success.
[quote]
for better or worse, the tour guide does end up representing the school in a big way.
[/quote]
Absolutely, momonthehill! My d was turned off (violently so) by the sophomore tour guide at a school I really wanted her to like - nice reputation, beautiful campus, affordable, probably would have been a safety (by the numbers, anyway). Sob! But I can't be too annoyed with my d, since the most off-putting thing the guide did during the tour was to embarrass me by repeating my question in a withering tone, complete with eyeball roll. This was after she repeatedly referred to one of the campus dining options as "gross," giggled annoyingly while saying "I don't know" to various legitimate questions, and stood us in the only unpleasant spot on campus for a long, dronish explanation of the refurbishment of the student center ("the infirmary used to be here but now I don't know where they're putting it; the student activities office used to be here but now it's where you can't see it ..."). I've been on dozens of college tours - this was the first real lemon we'd ever come across. Now, she should have been paired with a freshman (or anyone else with a brain).</p>
<p>We were the third family to walk off the tour, btw.</p>
<p>Degree of training was the most important factor for me. I had a frosh guide on one campus who didn't know what she was talking about and kept making up answers. She was really confused and confusing. In the general info session right afterwards, things that the Dean said contradicted much of what she had said. Someone on the tour told me later that he had reported the guide. I knew six people in my tour group. None of us applied to the school.</p>
<p>Most of the tours I've been on have had feedback cards. I recommend using them, both for positive responses and negative. The tour guide is an important part of the process, and colleges should know when they have a clunker out there.</p>
<p>In our experience, I can't remember whether a bad tour guide turned us off, but several times an excellent tour guide's enthusiasm was infectious.</p>
<p>We had two tour guides at Carnegie Mellon - one was a freshman in training and the other I believe was a junior. She jumped in whenever the younger woman forgot her spiel. We had two tour guides at WPI who had a friendly argument about the best dorm, everyone on that campus btw said their own dorm was best. (Not true at other places we visited.)</p>
<p>DD is a student ambassador and freshman at her college...and yes, she gives tours. At her school there are only 8 freshmen of the 32 ambassadors. They went through an extensive application/interview process, and then training after selected. DD says...she was only in the shoes of the visiting students herself a year or at most two ago. And she can speak to the adjustment to college life (especially from across the country) because it is all fresh for her. She did not begin to give tours until this quarter. This is because the seniors are finishing up their senior years...going to career fairs, figuring out what is happening for grad school, applying for jobs, completing senior theses. They are busy. As reflection....the best tour guide we had was a sophomore (at U of South Carolina) and the absolute worst was a freshman (at Claremont McKenna). However, that freshman KNEW about the campus...that was clear...it was HOW she presented herself that was an issue for my daughter. We also had very good freshman tour guides at Pepperdine, Chapman, Davidson, and USD (although I'm with Weenie....I couldn't hear that one and that was annoying). My daughter didn't care at all about the year of the tour guide as long as they knew their stuff. That is all that matters.</p>
<p>Seems like nearly all of our tour guides were sophomores. However, I particularly remember the Harvard guide because she was a senior. And as you might expect from someone who was just about to graduate from college instead of just barely a year out of high school, she was VERY articulate, poised, and polished -- a terrific representative of what four years at that school might do for you. I think schools should use juniors and seniors as much as they can.</p>
<p>With all the money that is spent by colleges on marketing it really baffles me that any would use inexperianced freshman. Frankly this particular college we visited has taken huge strides to compete with the higher tier institutions. New dorms, new science building, healthy merit scholarships..
The final step in the process should be the tour guide. As someone said bright, articulate, candid, and experianced. That should be the qualifying criteria. Our two freshman took us into a dorm and then realized there was no room to show us. They collided with other tour groups and seemed incredibly nervous. Finally a junior who was passing by began listening and answering questions She salvaged the experience to some extent.</p>