So I’ve been planning to visit a school, but I haven’t setup an appointment. I just want to see the campus, however would they allow me to enter some school property like the University’s library?
It depends on the school and when you are there. Why don’t you go to the website and sign up for a tour? If it is a school that cares about demonstrated interest, then they know you were there. Even if they don’t, you can get more info from a tour guide. You can still walk around by yourself afterwards. If it is during classes, you can usually go into academic buildings. One of my kids was interested in visual arts, so we would usually go check out that building when the tour was done. You likely can’t go into dorms or dining halls if you are there on your own. If you ask at admissions when you have signed up for a tour, sometimes they will give you a pass to eat in a dining hall.
Do you know any students at the school, like alums from your high school? If not, you may want to ask your high school’s college counselor if they can help you. Whenever possible, we tried to meet up with a current student for coffee or smoothies to ask questions that came up during the visit. Just looking at buildings and wandering around won’t tell you as much as taking an official tour or talking with a student about their experience.
My family visited lots of colleges without taking the official tours. The various security guards & people controlling access to libraries and such seemed to be accustomed to unofficial visitors. When we would tell them nicely that the kids were prospective students and we just wanted to take a look at a building or enter a restricted part of the campus, the always allowed us. It helps to look wholesome & harmless…you might have different results if you are wearing a leather vest and no shirt underneath.
Of course if you go there during the week when school is in session, most buildings except dorms will be open…Getting in on weekends and when school isn’t in session is tougher.
I would recommend that you set up a tour and information session. If you look at the admissions website for the school(s) there is usually information about how to do it. We did visit a couple of campuses on our own, but we found that the tour/information sessions made our visits much more informative/productive.
As to if you can get into libraries etc., that is college dependent. At a number of schools you will not be able to get into buildings. And as an extreme example, my S went to Fordham which has a gated campus and you might not be allowed onto campus without a tour set up.
@koolguy, there have been a lot of discussions on this site about the value of touring campuses on your own vs. going through the official tours. Apparently it helps your admission chances at some colleges to demonstrate your sincere interest by going through an official tour.
But other than that, in this day when every imaginable detail about a college can be found on its web site, I don’t get the value of these official presentations. They are ALL going to claim to have state-of-the-art facilities, caring professors, nutritious food, rabid alumni, and a cooperative atmosphere where everybody involved is thrilled to be part of the XYZ family. They will show you a video with a diverse bunch of students yucking it up with handsome professor, a female chem student earnestly eyeing a test tube, and maybe even that classic of classics: the cool young professor teaching her/his class OUTSIDE WHILE SITTING ON THE GRASS.
So, unless you don’t know how to read a map, and couldn’t find the library without being led there by a backward-walking sophomore, I wouldn’t sweat missing the official tour, even though you will miss out on some parent interrupting the presentation to ask the Dean of Admissions if the college’s intramural Quidditch league has a team for students who are allergic to broccoli, because Junior once collapsed after feasting on a post-game raw veggie platter.
Oh alright! Thanks everyone for the help. @moooop lol that’s true.