What to do when visiting a college

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Unfortunately, this list mostly applies to when school is in session, so it might not be the best list for those doing visits over the summer. In any case, here are a bunch of things that you might find helpful when you visit colleges to see if a school is or is not right for you.</p>

<li><p>Visit the main undergraduate library. How many students are there, and what are they doing? Are they actually studying, or are they wasting time on facebook and chatting?</p></li>
<li><p>Eat lunch at a student cafeteria and look at how the students sit. Do they sit with each other, or do they sit with themselves? How much do the students self-segregate? Eavesdrop, if you can, on conversations. What are students talking about? Try to spot people who come in as you’re sitting down-- do students get lunch as a group and sit down as a group, or do students come in individually and find a place to sit down among another group?</p></li>
<li><p>How many students on campus are wearing university-related apparel? University sweatshirts? Fraternity/sorority sweatshirts? Sports apparel? Humorous unofficial shirts?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the “hub” of campus like? What are students doing there? Is there a hub?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there flyers posted around campus? Chalk on the sidewalks Are they posted by students? What are they advertising?</p></li>
<li><p>What are the student publications like? What seem to be the important campus issues, according to the newspaper?</p></li>
<li><p>Do students wear expensive, name-brand clothes? Do they put time into dressing well? What sorts of cars do they drive? Are they expensive cars?</p></li>
<li><p>If you visit a large class, hang around a little bit after to see if students come up to the prof with questions, or if both students and profs disappear once it’s over. Does the professor attempt to interact with the students at all?</p></li>
<li><p>If you visit a small class, listen to the way students discuss with each other. Do they listen to each other and take each other seriously? Do a few students dominate discussion?</p></li>
<li><p>Ask your tour guide what a typical weekend is like. Ask him or her what he or she and his or her friends are doing over the summer, and what their career plans are.</p></li>
<li><p>What’s the student union like? What can you do there?</p></li>
<li><p>How many students walk around with headphones on or talking on their cell phones?</p></li>
<li><p>Stand in a high-traffic area with your campus map out and consult it. See how long you can stand there until somebody comes over to help you.</p></li>
</ol>

2

<p>Something about this list irks me, I'm not quite sure what, but here's my take on the things listed (I'm already in college, keep that in mind).</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Library: Most places, you'll have to go beyond the first floor to see the "real studiers" who aren't facebooking. There's nothing wrong with dropping in to check your Facebook if you know a friend sent you a message and it's urgent or something or if your own computer isn't working or whatever. At my school at least, the "seriousness" of studying increases as the floor number increases. First floor, fairly loud with groups studying in the open, people laughing, etc. 2nd floor, a little quieter, some groups in rooms. 3rd floor, even quieter, all groups in rooms. 4th floor, dead silent, cell phones must be off/silenced and you must leave the study area to talk on the phone, no groups allowed.</p></li>
<li><p>Lunch: I don't really have anything against this one. Seeing kids social at a meal is a good sign :)</p></li>
<li><p>University apparel: Great sign of school spirit, but you could be there on a day when it just happens that not many are wearing school clothes. It happens.</p></li>
<li><p>Hub: Sometimes the Hub is not defined. At my school it's the green, open spaces on central campus where kids play ultimate frisbee and lay in the grass reading a book.</p></li>
<li><p>Fliers/Posters: Nothing against this topic. You'll see many many many posters during your college years. It's a great way to get the word out :)</p></li>
<li><p>Newspaper: Remember that the paper does not define the students. It's run by a rather small % of the student body, and what's important to them may not be important to all. </p></li>
<li><p>Cars/Clothes: Most schools will not have cars driving around campus all day, especially not driven by students. And clothing...you'll have every crowd at a school. I wear jeans and tshirt one day, khakis and nice shirt another, and go out in my sweats other days. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>8/9. Class/Prof: Just remember that you're seeing ONE class, maybe two. Not every prof or every section of students will behave like the one you sit in on.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Tour guides: Remember, just one person. You could have a total slacker for a tour guide or a really enthusiastic "on the right track" person.</p></li>
<li><p>Student Union: I dont know what to say. Some are fabulous, some not so much. But some places have great things to do outside the union, not in. It depends on the school of course.</p></li>
<li><p>Headphones/Cell Phones: I see absolutely nothing wrong with a student walking around with headphones in or talking on the phone. If none of my friends are walking the same way as me and I'm alone, I'll listen to my iPod. I'd rather listen to that then the sounds of the city busses and whatever other noises there are. And maybe their parents called or their trying to meet up with friends over the phone or whatever. It's no different than sitting in their room on the phone, except they're in public now.</p></li>
<li><p>Maps: I agree 100%. If I'm not absolutely late for a meeting I'll help out those with a map out, because I was there once too. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>OP, I'm not bashing your list. Just giving my $.02. To other readers, IMO, take both lists with a grain of salt and enjoy your tour :)</p>

3

<p>Yep, thanks for that. Of course you could visit a school and just be in the wrong place at the wrong time and see something or someone that pulls your impression of the school one way or another, and perhaps unfairly. And I guess this list wasn't meant to be a defining list, but rather to give students and parents an idea of where to look at how to look.</p>

<p>I know that cell phones and iPods are popular, and I know that students would take them out as soon as they saw somebody they knew, etc., and that most students don't listen to them loud enough so that they can't hear what's going on around them, yet at the same time I think it's a little cold. I feel like I'm interrupting them.</p>

<p>And also-- I tried not to make this list slanted. Some students will like going to a school where students on the whole put a lot of time into their appearance. Some will like a school where nobody cares. Some will like a school where there's some of both, so depending on the day and how you feel, no matter what, you will be dressed like a lot of your cohorts.</p>

<p>And I just put in the sweatshirts one because I realize that I really like seeing a lot of Chicago sweatshirts as a student here... it's like a "hey, we have something in common and we both think our school is pretty awesome!" I also think that seeing a lot of fraternity/sorority apparel is a sign of the strength of the Greek scene.</p>