We will be visiting my kid’s top choices for final selection.
We’ll be visiting during school days/hours and not the “acceptance day event”.
The colleges offer tours for admitted students so we’ll be joining them.
Besides, the college official tours, we want to do our own exploration. We’ll like my kid to get a sense of the students’ vibe, college culture, activities, academics, etc., anything that we cannot figure out by reading the college’s website. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions/words of wisdom for us?
Yes. You stay home. Send the student on his own if at all possible for a few days to stay at the school with a student from his high school, or through your religious group, or any other connection. Let him sit in on some classes, hang with students.
Look at any bulletin boards and see what they say.
Our kid went and sat on a bench on the green. At some schools, students actually came up and introduced themselves…and started to chat.
At one school, out of state for us and sort of far, we asked if a tour guide from our region of the country could give our kid a tour and the school arranged that.
If you’re looking lost (like on a phone), kids or profs will stop to help. Sometimes 10 or 20 mins later you realize I just learned a lot. We had great chats at W&L and Emory this way. We really were lost. And they help the tourists
Eat in the dining hall. Talk to the kids staffing the info desk. At ERAU when we asked where on campus to eat, they asked - do you have a car ? Enough said.
Any groups or clubs or faculty u want to meet ? Request in advance but you can also pop in to an office. My daughter got lucky with a hello to the Honors College Dean. And then money started flowing although I can’t say that’s why.
Mainly be thorough, inquisitive. Maybe walk from a popular freshman dorm to the library at night. Feel safe ? Walk a likely class route. How long ? If it’s a large school with a bus route, hop on if you can and experience it.
Lots of great things you can do. Some know right away - is it right or not. Others don’t. And optimize your time with various activities if you need that time.
I wanted my kid to see that someone from out of region really loved the college. Those tour guides don’t get the jobs unless they really love the school. Her guide was a guy who actually came from a town not far from here. He was able to answer all of her questions about being from afar. I think she appreciated that.
Read the college newspaper website before you get there! If there are problems/complaints/controversies, you will be armed with information to ask questions or gauge the reality.
