So What Did You Do This Summer?

If you are a high school student, particularly a rising junior and senior, along with working and going to the beach, the answer should also include visiting college campuses.

Some college admission experts feel that the college visit is the most important factor in determining where a student will attend college. While websites, print materials, parent input and even peers do influence a student’s ultimate choice, nothing beats the visit to campus.

Visiting a college can be as simple as driving through campus or as formal as visiting for a weekend. Summer provides a great opportunity to conduct a college visit; however, one must remember that since most students are not on campus during the summer, that the campus may look and feel markedly different than during the school year.

Many a family vacation is planned around a college visit. It is highly suggested that an appointment for a general information session and a tour is made in advance for two reasons. One is that some schools will have limited opportunities for official visits during the summer. If you arrive at 10:15 and the only tour of the day left at 10:00, you may be out of luck. Secondly, by making an appointment, you are assured that the Admissions Office knows that you have visited and gotten official information. This may help when it comes time to review your application for admission as some colleges track every contact a student has with the institution and that may factor into whether a student is accepted or not. However, if you don’t have an appointment, a drive or walk through of the campus is better than nothing.

Visiting during the summer is often more relaxing for both families and the admissions staff. Summer mode usually allows for more in-depth and interesting conversations. It also allows students a chance to visit many colleges without missing school or other school activities which for students with jam packed schedules can help to narrow down what might be perhaps a long list of possible colleges considerations.

Whether you visit during the summer or the school year, here are some tips to consider:

• Avoid booking more than two official visits in one day. If you set up too many tours and information sessions into one day you will feel rushed and may miss out on some of the important bits of information and tour stops.

• Make sure you know where you need to be and what time the tour or information session starts. Many large campuses will prove challenging to find where you need to go. Remember parking can be a challenge so you need to plan accordingly.

• See if the tour guide will take you off the beaten path or to a particular building which is of importance to you. Most campus tours (especially on large campuses) consist of a set itinerary with perhaps little flexibility. If you are a music major you will probably want to see the music facility. Will the tour accommodate your request? This also holds true to dormitories. Most tours have specific dorms that are showcased. Is that the dorm where most freshmen reside? If not, try to see what the living accommodations would likely be like for an incoming student.

• Ask question of the tour guide that cannot be easily answered in the college literature. Asking whether a school has an English major or even how good it is will likely not be helpful (especially if your tour guide is a business major) but asking about why the tour guide chose this school over another or what is campus life like on the weekends will give you valuable information that may not be readily available in the official school publications.

• If you have the opportunity, just take time to sit in the campus union or on a bench and watch the student traffic. Is there activity at all times or just in between classes? Are their congregating places where students gather or do they just keep on walking? Do students act friendly and social to one another or keep to themselves?

• Pick up a campus newspaper. What is the hot topic or buzz about? Is the discussion about the arrests for excessive drinking during spring weekend or the fact that the education department won a national award? This type of information will give you insight to the issues on campus.

• If parents and students go on the visit together, make sure to discuss ahead of time what the expectations and rules will be. A student may be embarrassed by a parent asking too many questions, but parents have a right to know this information as well. By negotiating expectations prior to the visit, it may alleviate issues later on.

• Be sure to send a thank you note or email to the admission representative and the tour guide. This can prove extremely beneficial later on especially if you find the school to be among your top choices.

While summer campus tours may not provide the ultimate campus tour experience, it will help a student get a good sense of the campus layout, the campus climate and how the campus fits in with the surrounding community. A summer visit may help to keep a school on the list or eliminate it all together. Then a follow up visit can be scheduled at a later date to include an appointment with a professor or coach, sitting in on a class or even possibly an overnight experience when school is in full session. Depending upon the time of the year and time of the day the tour occurs, your experience can vary considerably. Ultimately this information should prove valuable in the decision as to whether to apply and if accepted, whether to attend the institution. At the end of the day it is not as important when you visit as it is important that you visit.