Visiting Colleges and Departments

<p>Hey guys, I need some input here. I'm pretty confused regarding visiting colleges, specifically the departments. I'll use music as an example here, which is one of the fields I'm interested in. Let me know if there's different procedures for different departments. (Say, engineering.)</p>

<p>I recently visited the music department of a selective LAC. Because my mom is an alum, before we went she sent an email to the head of the music department, explaining my interest and qualifications, and arranged to meet with the head, who was very supportive. (I was a sophomore at the time, but clearly I'll be taking ownership of college visits in the future.) I had a great visit but am now wondering how I should visit departments in the future. I am visiting another, larger college in a month, and would like to meet with faculty in the music department. However, as neither of my parents has a connection there, it strikes me as a bit presumptuous for a junior kid to email the head, or even another faculty member. Also, the school is sigificantly larger, and I wonder if it is even possible to meet privately with the department. (However, the music department is not as well known.) There must be a standard precedure for this kind of thing, but I can't seem to find information on it! Can anyone help me out here?? Also, is it just arts departments that you can arrange visits to? I mean, what's the deal with touring, say, and English or physics department?
Thanks so much!</p>

<p>Since music programs tend to vary quite a bit by school, in your case, I think visiting individual departments would be a good idea. </p>

<p>If e-mailing the department head is too intimidating, e-mail the general admissions office and ask how you would go about getting a tour of the music department. The admissions office will probably direct you to the right person in a not-quite-as-forward manner.</p>