<p>Yes! I am going to Stanford for a campus tour and was wondering what are some good questions I should ask. </p>
<p>Here's what I have so far:
-favorite/least favorite thing about Stanford
-how much do you study?
-how hard is it to maintain good grades?
-what are some interesting things to do on weekends?</p>
<p>I will probably think of more when I get there but I am trying to make a descent list right now so that I can make the most of my visit. So please, any suggestions would be nice!</p>
<p>If your serious about applying for admission as a top choice for Stanford, you might want to ask how the professors are, generally (if the tour guide is a student).</p>
<p>You also might want to ask things about dorm rules (are small fridges, microwaves, etc. allowed?) Which student houses are favourable (if you want housing)? What are some traditions that many students dont know about?</p>
<p>you want to do your best to assimilate into the environment and be comfortable.</p>
<p>I was just at Stanford today actually and I talked with some admission officers. So apparently Kimball Hall has the best dorms (it’s the one I’m staying in right now…it’s pretty decent in size…), excluding the fancy housing that the upperclassmen get. Maybe you can ask how dorms are assigned…</p>
<p>It was a volleyball camp though, so I didn’t have time to get too specific. Most girls were there to ask about recruiting and stuff.</p>
<p>well speaking as a tour guide, please do ask questions, because it’s way less awkward and boring than talking into space for an hour. you’ve got a good idea of what to ask already. basically ask things that’ll give you a good idea of how it’s like to go there.</p>
<p>“how much sleep do you get a night?”
“what classes do people have to take? what are they? what do people usually say about the workload? how much work do you do a night?”
“how are the parties?”
“how is the academic atmosphere? are people serious about studying? is it super-competitive?”
“how is the social life? do people know people? is there a lot to do around campus? what kind of clubs are there?”
“what is there to do off campus? what’s your typical weekend like? how often do you go out?”
“what about research? is it easy to find a job in a lab here? have you ever done so?” (if it’s that sort of school)
“what sort of traditions can i write about in my college essays?” j/k
“how are the athletics? which sports are ‘big’ here? what level do people compete at? how easy is it to join a sport if you have no experience?”</p>
<p>(try and keep your questions topical - ask about food when you’re near the dining hall, ask about academics when you’re near the classroom etc. don’t ask awkward things like “what was your sat score” because that question sucks on so many levels. also don’t ask questions about when the school was founded or any architectural stuff because at least at caltech they don’t teach us that stuff. the tour is not so much a tour as it is an excuse to learn more about what it’s like to be a student there.)</p>
<p>tour guides are human too,
and lying doesn’t come naturally to us,
and neither does preparing canned answers
(because that would take work)
so we might have stories we tell a lot,
but we usually answer questions pretty honestly,
unless we get the same question on every tour and have learned to deal with it</p>
<p>i guess the best way to get good answers,
is ask questions no one has asked before :D</p>
<p>but maybe this is just at my school,
where they don’t really train you,
or control what you say on the tour,
or feed you responses to questions</p>
<p>But then you always get one of those overzealous parents in your group. The type you find in the Parents section here.</p>
<p>I remember, before I transferred, and I was giving a tour, I pointed out the freshmen dorms to my group — which is called “Whiteface Hall.” I then got grilled for fifteen minutes about why it’s called “Whiteface.”</p>