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What to ask during a college visit...


LizzyBee
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Can you help you form a list of questions for my dd to ask during a college visit next week?

 

Some background:

 

She is a junior.

She won't be taking the SAT for the first time until May.

She is planning to double major in elementary ed and math.

She is planning to apply for the honors program.

She will be visiting a state university with a well regarded education major.

The tour will take 3 hours. This doesn't include visiting classes or the financial aid office, which will have to be arranged separately. (Would you try to fit that in on the same day or go back on a different day? The university is only 1.5 hours away, so it's not a big deal to go back later, and I don't want dd to get tired and then make a bad impression.)

 

Thanks for any advice!

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I would do it all in one day, if possible. Eat in the cafeteria if she will be living in on campus housing. Have her chat with students who are eating. We have found that time to be enlightening and helpful for giving us more of an insider look at the school.

 

If possible, ask students some questions. Students have a different perspective than the administrators and tour guides. It would be best if your dd can ask these of students who are in her planned majors:

 

What do you like best about the program/course of study/instructors?

Is the program (teachers, courses) what you expected? Why or why not?

Are you learning what you expected to learn?

Are course expectations and level of instruction what you expected?

Is life at the school what you expected? If not, why? (get details)

What is dorm life like?

Do you/Can you study in your dorm room? Why or why not?

How is the cafeteria food?

Is it easy to get involved in clubs, etc? What clubs/activities are you involved in?

What is the easiest way to meet people?

What do you like most about going to school here?

What surprised you most when you started school here?

If you were making the decision again, would you choose to go to school here? Why or why not?

How difficult is it to get the classes you need each semester?

Can a student really graduate in 4 years if he wants to?

 

You can get all the statistics from the administrators. I am referring to things like retention and graduation rate, employment rate for education majors when they graduate, how many students are in the education program compared to number who graduate, class size, what makes their education program different from other universities' programs, how many courses are taught by the professors and how many by their student associates, what the honors program offers your dd that the regular program doesn't, etc.

 

If your dd will be living in on campus housing, try to get a tour there, too. You can learn a lot about the environment in the dorms by looking and listening to the students who are currently living there.

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The tour will take 3 hours. This doesn't include visiting classes or the financial aid office, which will have to be arranged separately. (Would you try to fit that in on the same day or go back on a different day? The university is only 1.5 hours away, so it's not a big deal to go back later, and I don't want dd to get tired and then make a bad impression.)

 

In our experience, the younger the dd and the earlier in the visiting process, the less they were wanting to push through and do the extra stuff. We needed opportunities for our dds to be sort of anonymous and begin to see themselves as college students. We began with the basic 3 hour college tours at schools close to home--nothing additional. We evolved into the more targeted visits--meeting with departments, honors, etc. as we got closer to the decision. You will know your dd best as far as what she can handle at this point--we witnessed deer in the headlights reactions if we moved too fast. :001_smile:

 

The funny thing is, we were surprised by our dds reactions. They are college savvy, confident kids. Something about staring the next step of independence in the face really shook them.

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In our experience, the younger the dd and the earlier in the visiting process, the less they were wanting to push through and do the extra stuff. We needed opportunities for our dds to be sort of anonymous and begin to see themselves as college students. We began with the basic 3 hour college tours at schools close to home--nothing additional. We evolved into the more targeted visits--meeting with departments, honors, etc. as we got closer to the decision. You will know your dd best as far as what she can handle at this point--we witnessed deer in the headlights reactions if we moved too fast. :001_smile:

 

The funny thing is, we were surprised by our dds reactions. They are college savvy, confident kids. Something about staring the next step of independence in the face really shook them.

 

I can see my dd reacting the same way. She wants her independence, but she's scared of it too.

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