We’ll be starting them before too long; what is my son supposed to be looking for? How the campus looks, the “feel”, the surrounding area? I hear that sitting in on a class is a good idea, but does that really tell the student anything when it’s a large university? It will be interesting to see what our son thinks of schools versus what my wife and I think.
I think sitting in on a class tells a student what it is like to attend a large university. One in a large crowd… some students may reconsider looking at larger schools after this experience. Or your kid may sit in on a section that is taught by a TA – that is also something that could be a good experience, as many classes are taught by TAs at large schools.
We made a list of questions about academics in her area of interest, college schedule (trimester, quarters, j-term, etc), dorms, ECs she was interested in, surrounding community, campus safety, etc. I actually kept the notes during the visit. They were super helpful later when she needed to write those “Why College X?” essays.
We liked to eat in a cafeteria on campus if school was in session. We also would visit buildings after the tour on our own – for instance, one of my kids was thinking about a visual art minor. So we would seek out the building where those studios and classes were to look at the art, facilities, etc. The tour didn’t ever take us there, so we went on our own. Another of my kids had a kind of unusual study abroad interest (country not many students study in), so we would try to visit that office as well (sometimes I went when my kid was in class, though).
Sometimes you can arrange for your student to talk to a professor in their proposed major. If your student is confident and enthusiastic about that, you could see about that.
One other thing I did was make a copy of the pages from the Fiske Guide for the college, and have my kid read it while we were driving to the school to remind them about the school. (You could just take the whole book if you are driving from home).
Oh, and pick up a copy of the campus newspaper while you are on campus if you can. Very revealing sometimes…
I agree that sitting in on a class at a large university gives a feel of what it’s like to attend one; however, wouldn’t they be able to get the same thing from sitting in on a class at a local large university? The reason I say that is that our son is interested in a school far from home, so summer is the best time to visit (their spring break and mine don’t line up this year). Good idea about picking up a campus newspaper! He may want to look for the online version in the meantime.
Sitting in a class is always a good learning tool just like going to the cafeteria for lunch
observe if the students take their property with them when they get food or do they leave some things at their tables
its always a plus to see honor code type of behavior
check out the athletic facilities for the students,ask about blue light system and how campus security handles a student leaving somewhere late by themselves. is there an escort if needed??
late night munchies,whats available on campus after hours how far from freshmen dorms
good luck, enjoy the process
Most books about college admissions will have a chapter or section about what to look for and ask about on a college visit. Gestalt is important, but it’s also worth making the visit part of your overall search and evaluation plan.
First off I enjoy college visits (much more than my child does). We started with what they wanted out of a college. What are they thinking of studying? How far from home are they comfortable being? How important is the size of the school? What kind of environment do they like ie. urban, college town, suburban etc? What interests do they have beyond academics that are important to them? And finally the all important question…what is affordable? Many of these questions won’t be answerable when you first start searching. We started with instate schools that we felt were affordable, safeties as it were. We would visit large and small schools, urban and college towns. As they visited and got closer to when applications would actually be sent they began to refine their decisions. As you begin to get more serious about colleges you visit you can begin to talk to department heads, come up with questions you have, visit classes (our Ds never did).
If your child is a sophomore take them locally to various types of universities. If you are on vacation somewhere stop at a local university just to see something different (we stopped at George Washington University while visiting DC). By the time they are juniors they should be a bit more clear on what type of school they want and the general area of study and you can narrow your search and visits. You will also start note taking. By the senior year your child should have a pretty good idea which universities have what they are looking for.
A visit isn’t going to ensure that a particular college will be a perfect match but I think they can start a child thinking about what life beyond HS might be like. Good luck.
Ivvcsf, we have at least one far away college we’ll likely want to visit. Our son is a junior who is almost certain to be a NMSF but unlikely to be a finalist. The schools that give big bucks to NSMF tend to be down south, so it’s more likely we’d be visiting during summer vacation. Ole Miss is on his list, and I’d like to have an excuse to visit Memphis. I grew up in Tennessee (in the opposite corner) and have never been there. A positive to visiting during the summer is seeing what the heat feels like to him; he’s not crazy about hot weather. He realizes that he wouldn’t be there for the entire summer, though. I sent him a link from the Ole Miss newspaper; there was an article on James Franco visiting for the Oxford Film Festival, and S is really into movies (one of his reasons for being interested in Ole Miss is the film minor and the fact that they have a film festival there).
I thought it was really important to visit to learn things I might not have from their website or from other sources. Pay attention to the presentations given, things that you like, things you might not like. If you’re gonna spend at least 4 years (and who knows how much money) there, you better make sure you like it.
One school I visited looked perfect on paper; stats, location, programs, SAT percentiles, everything looked good. But when I visited, the school seemed very “blah” in comparison to its impressive numbers (and by impressive, I mean 90% placement into med/law school, which is much higher than the national average). The presentation given to us seemed disorganized, and the representative even apologized to us, saying “This is the presentation I use for the international students, so not all of this will apply to you.” I felt far less important than the ~ seven international students this school gains any given academic year, and I was really disappointed with the school. If I had based my opinion of the school on its information, I probably would have applied there, so I’m really happy my family was able to visit.
The visit is the college’s chance to WOW you, and if you’re not wowed, maybe don’t consider that school. Look out for little details and ask TONS of questions; it will impress potential admissions counselors and you will learn a lot more by figuring out the information you want to know.
Well… regarding the ‘wow’ factor, I would say be careful with that. When we were done looking, I would say both of my kids wished they could “build a college” and put together their favorite traits of each. And don’t get too attached to one school, the student might not get admitted or it might not be affordable, or they might change their mind about their major prior to May 1 of senior year, etc. Your goal is to build a list of safety, match, and reach schools that all seem appealing enough to attend. The safeties are hardest to find (it is easy to find reaches, though!). Your other goal is to look hard at all aspects of a school, but don’t get hung up on little stuff. We see parents & students who get wound around the axle on stuff that isn’t very important in the big scheme of the education and college experience, too.
Don’t ask questions that can be answered by looking at the webste or the viewbook. It will “show interest” in the school if you have prepped for the visit. .
Tom Sr of Boston…Wicked good & pertinent comment.
OP -My $.02 on visiting - looking at the surrounding area. You can’t spend all 4 years on campus, and where can you go to get away? How far is it to x? AND BTW OP - My D went to a large state Uni - and sat in on a large lecture hall - and it helped her decide to go to a smaller school with smaller class size.
And the main thing, is - Can your child see themselves at that school having fun? Good Luck!
One of my kids’ criteria was how far the walk was to the public library. Both got library cards and used them fairly extensively for pleasure reading, too. That might not be on everyone’s list, though. 
We’ve visited 20 colleges over 18 months. Nothing beats sitting in a class or several. Interview with admissions if it is offered. Eat in dining hall. Meet random students if you are comfortable talking to total strangers
I agree with the above, BUT not necessarily with the advice to interview. If your kid is not comfortable in an interview and it is evaluative (look at the Common Data Set, google for each college to find it), I’d say don’t interview. I’d also say that kids starting out on their search aren’t so good at interviewing – they often have no idea what they want. Seniors tend to interview more strongly, that year of maturity makes a big difference. And some kids just are terrible at it – one of mine was GREAT and used it to her advantage. The other was NOT, and avoided them as much as possible. Kid #2 had somewhat better stats, and MUCH better acceptance results (accepted everyplace she applied).