What is the point of visiting colleges?

<p>I was wondering why it is neccessary to visit colleges. It seems like they have most of their important information online. Also, it seems like a bad idea to decide where to attend school based on a single visit, especially those admitted students days because the college is probably trying to look as appealing as it can. Also, I feel like a college experience would be heavily based on the faculty, since the point of college is to go to class and learn. But at these visiting days, one might meet with the head of a department, but not necessarily the professors that will shape one's academic life for the next four years. The main reason I ask this is because I went to Udel's decision day thing on April 10th, and I really didn't find it all that informative.</p>

<p>Anyways, I am admitted to Udel, American University, Penn State, Pitt, Gettysburg College, and Boston College. BC is my top choice, but it's way to expensive, and Gettysburg is in the middle of nowhere, so I don't want to go there. Out of the remaining four, I know there are probably thousands of people that enjoy attending those colleges, so I don't think I will regret attending any of them. Is it actually a smart thing to decide where to go based on a single visit.</p>

<p>Because you’re gonna spend next 4 years in that school (unless you transfer in the midway), you have to make sure you love the school’s atmosphere, people and all other things.</p>

<p>cheezy - you make a very valid point about not judging a college based on a single visit. Too ften, a school seems great on paper and the website info looks great - and then you have a bad visit - maybe a lackluster tourguide - and all of a sudden the school plummets on your list. I suggest that the visit is just one pience of info that you weigh alongside the other pieces. </p>

<p>Many students find that they don’t have that magic moment where one particular school shines above all of the rest - and that they could envision themselves being happy and suuccessful on several campuses. And that’s just fine. I still think it is a good idea to visit, just to see the campus, see the students and feel that particular campus’ vibe - but you’re right - it could be different depending on how you soend that visit, the weather etc. Just consider a campus visit one piece of the puzzle.</p>

<p>General comment - Pitt really seems to be on the rise - hearing more and more positive things about it. Gettysburg - lovely campus, great small school - but if you want more to do - your other options are more urban. AU is more expensive than Pitt, but DC is great. Have you visited Pitt? If not, I would suggest you do so - it might be your best option and that visit might seal the deal.</p>

<p>Well, would you marry someone based on a resume, letters of recommendations from previous boyfriends/girlfriends, and a picture?</p>

<p>It’s important to get a sense of the place. A single visit is risky in that the college or you may have a bad day. Take a class, walk around campuses, visit the library, drive through the town, talk and observe students, etc. Don’t draw any deep conclusions. But you’ll definitely learn something, and you may begin to think of the place as home for the next four years.</p>

<p>Its very important. I never knew alot about Syracuse University until I was selected to be part of their nyc summer college program my junior year in hs. I wasn’t even going to apply until the day SU took us for an overnight trip up their and I fell in love. The people were so nice and the campus was so beautiful.</p>

<p>Point is, if I never was exposed to the program or the campus visit, I would have never knew how wonderful SU was.</p>

<p>I also not only visited but attended orientation for an HBCU that I was suppose to attend. When I got their I wasn’t completely sold. I was expected to attend until I had a financial issue w/ the school, so I stayed in NY.</p>

<p>You don’t have to visit, but never trust the website. At least try and talk to people who have seen (or, better yet, attended) the college.</p>

<p>I guess sometimes you can tell right away if a type of school is not for you, as in you decide you’ll never attend a school in the city, or never a liberal arts school, or never a school that doesn’t have a certain major, or you somehow find every student at a school to be really rude…</p>

<p>Seems that many people can make this kind of decision on their college visits:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/790906-colleges-you-child-crossed-off-list-after-visiting.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/790906-colleges-you-child-crossed-off-list-after-visiting.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Cheezy - I think your point is very valid. IMO, the things that prospective students are most likely to notice that will impact their enthusiasm about a school that they visit are: 1) the charm or hotness of the tour guide, 2) how good the food was, 3) how pleasant the weather was, 4) the visual appeal of the architecture, 5) one random thing that was said that triggered for them either a highly positive or highly negative knee-jerk reaction. Given that, there’s a real danger on a visit of compiling a list of superficial reasons for liking or disliking the school.</p>

<p>To handle those superficial influences, I think it’s important to do some research beforehand so that you’re looking for first-hand evidence that confirms or doesn’t confirm what you already anticipate. In addition to perusing the website and looking through college guides, I’d recommend reading the campus newspaper online once a week for a couple of months before you visit.</p>

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<p>No, but to push the analogy, the typical approach to campus visits is akin to marrying someone based upon the experience of a single date. That’s why you need to begin the “dating relationship” well in advance and know what you’re looking for by the time you arrive.</p>

<p>I’ve found that people react differently to the same architecture. Whatever the architecture, come people will find it invigorating and inspiring, while others might find it gross or depressing. Another thing you can’t tell from the web sites is the ease of getting around. How compact is the campus? Are the dorms close to the classrooms or do you have to take a bus to get around? Are there lots of hills and stairways?</p>

<p>I think, both professionally and personally, that college visits are very important to the decision process. Is a visit going to outweigh significantly lower rankings or a school not having a degree program you’re considering? No, probably not. But, it can give you a pretty good view into the daily feel of the campus, what kind of students attend there, what the facilities are actually like (instead of the best-of-the-best pictures they’ll have on their website), and more often than not, you’ll learn something new about a degree program, honors program, or residence hall by visiting that you’d never thought to look for online, or wouldn’t find online. And, as Schmaltz mentioned, it does let you see how close or far your classes would be from your dorms, lets you see if the campus is primarily pedestrian focused or car focused, and allows you to get a feel for what kind of activities occur on campus on a daily basis. I always caution the students I work with about making decisions based off of “open house” days since those are often not an accurate look into a “typical” day at a college. Sometimes an open house will provide enough information/atmosphere for you to decide whether or not to continue considering a university, but is not enough to make a truly informed decision. Personal visits to campus during a week when classes are in session was a must on my list back in the day, and I recommend it to all prospective students now that I’m in a position to do so.</p>

<p>A typical day visit has so many variables it is outside the control of an admissions office, unlike an open house. Yes, there are things that might not have anything to do with the university that could have an unrealistically positive or negative effect on your view of the school (tour guide, random incident on campus that day, bad parking due to a lot of visitors that day… the possibilities are endless, and something admissions offices stress about daily), but that’s just part of the package. </p>

<p>The better question to ask yourself, is why wouldn’t you visit colleges before you decide to attend there? I’ve compared that situation to buying a new car. On paper and websites, I can see that a Lexus, a Mercedes, and an Audi are all very comparable in price, features, reviews, quality, and availability. However, I don’t know of a single person who is going to make an investment in a high end luxury car based purely off of information available from others. They’re going to take a test drive and make sure it’s the car for them. College is the same kind of thing- it’s a huge investment (financially and otherwise), and unlike the car, it may affect the rest of your life. Not visiting just doesn’t make much sense if you’re serious about going to the best school for you, not the best school other people have told you about. </p>

<p>So, to summarize, I can’t say that a single visit is all to consider when making your decision, but it should definitely be a factor.</p>

<p>One factor to consider is the surrounding area and how the commute to home or other areas will be managed. The lack of direct flights to and from a certain area as well as having to drive more than an hour from the airport to the school was a dealbreaker for my S. It was no fun getting up at the crack of dawn and taking connecting flights (which could also be affected by weather) then drive another hour and a half to got to a certain school. The whole day can be lost with travel and experiencing that can affect whether or not you want to put up with that scenario everytime you want to travel anywhere. Plus looking at the surrounding area for entertainment or outdoor related activities is so valuable. Yes students will stay on campus most of the time but this is a factor that can make or break a decision even if the college is great.</p>