What exactly does a college visit entail?

[Unicorn.]

I've been reading through the different threads and trying to gather as much info as I can, since ds is a sophomore (and yes, the email bombardment has begun). He has a top choice, and I think a second. The top is a perfect fit for him, but even w/ straight A's and high test scores doesn't mean he'll get in. I'm thinking of the schools we really know nothing about, that offer what he needs. A "mid" list, I guess?

 

I'm seeing everything from just walking around the campus, to interviews, to meeting w/ profs and dept. heads, sitting in on classes, eating in the cafeteria (didn't know that was allowed), to summer programs, etc. If I wanted to start scheduling visits, what do we need to do? I'm completely overwhelmed. Back in my day, we didn't do visits, write essays, or have interviews!

 

So what does a college visit really look like? (lists and/bullet points are ok- really, speak slowly and use small words- I think I might vomit)

[ThisIsTheDay]

We've visited just over half a dozen schools. Basically, it goes like this:

 

You check in at a certain desk in a building that they have told you about when you register. Your student will often receive a token backpack or other trinket with the school logo, along with a nice brochure of the school. Depending on the parking situation at each school, you may be given a parking validation. At least one school offered a coffee/juice bar.

 

You are directed to a small auditorium down the hall. We've had anything from just four family groups to 50 or more, depending on the time of year. Larger schools will typically hold sessions every day, sometimes twice a day; smaller schools may hold fewer sessions each week.

 

Information sessions generally last 30-45 mins. They often begin with asking for a show of hands what grades the kids are in, and sometimes ask where people are from. There are no more questions directed to specific individuals (although one school had the students tell their names and where they were from). The speaker will run through a great-sell-the-school speech about how wonderful it is, and what the admission requirements are. They will tell you about different opportunities available for your student, ranging from financial aid, to study abroad programs, to their terrific professors. Many will show a small video clip that is produced by students at the school. These really are full of information, specific to the school, and meant to encourage students to apply.

 

Typically, at the end, they will have several student tour guides come to the front, and you will be either directed to, or told to gather by, the person whose tour you would like. We usually chose based on the guide's major; my dd would pick someone whose was similar. Very generally, each group might average about 10 people. At one school, we changed groups when they seriously underestimated; there were about 30 in each group, and we chose the person with the loud voice.

 

The walking tour is usually 1 to 1-1/2 hours. You usually see a couple of school buildings and a classroom. You usually see a representative dorm room. You always see at least one cafeteria and student center, and often a library. The student guides are very friendly and knowledgeable and are happy to both offer a running commentary on a wide variety of things at the school, and are also engaged in conversation as people ask questions.

 

Two years ago, I was in your shoes and eager to take my dd on tours but quite nervous about what to expect. I finally called a friend to ask the same questions you did. No need for you to vomit! Tours really are super fun!! It was a good way to get to know if you/your student is interested in learning further about the school. You are always welcome to come back and take another tour (we toured at least two twice). The schools are eager to promote themselves in the best possible light. While we may have enjoyed some of the tours or guides more than others, I can't remember having a "bad" time. It was a great way to bond with my kid too, at a time when her interests are so very different than mine. Really, really fun. :)

[Unicorn.]

So what about visits that aren't a part of a school scheduled event? Do you call and arrange to do certain things? Just go? or ?????

[ThisIsTheDay]

Every school will have a section on their website for visits. You'll find it under the Admissions tab. These are the ones that you want to attend. :)

[Donna A.]

:lurk5:

[dirty ethel rackham]

Our family prefers the individual visit over the cattle-call "visit days." We feel that we get a better feel for the school this way. The first step in setting up a visit involves studying the school's website under Admissions. Just about every school has information on how to visit. Some have an online request form and others require a call to the admissions office to schedule a visit. Some schools allow over night visits for any high school visitor and other schools limit them (seniors only, accepted students only, etc.) Some schools will only do overnight visits for out-of-state visitors.

 

The day usually starts with a check in at the admissions office.

 

Sometimes there is a short presentation by admissions staff (the sell job:).) At other schools, the tour guide usually meets the student and family and takes them on a tour. Major campus buildings - especially ones related to anticipated major, library, student center, dorm rooms and usually a visit to the cafeteria.

 

We usually try to have our student sit in on a class. We also try to meet with the department head of the intended major.

 

The admissions people usually comp the student and family for lunch in the cafeteria. Most will have a student guide for lunch. At some schools, we were encouraged to check out the cafeteria options on our own.

 

We also usually ended the day with an interview with the admissions counselor (usually the student goes in first and then the parents are invited in afterwards.) They go over the transcript so far and talk about the student's progress and how they match up with their student body. (We only visited schools where our student would very likely be accepted because we need the merit scholarships.) They would also talk about scholarships and financial aid.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

 

The Academies have Candidate View Weekends--stay in the dorm, eat with the cadets/Mids, sit in class, and just generally get hustled. They are for kids that the Academies want and that the Academies know have offers from other places. The plebes/doolies love having a "drag" as they don't have to chop or ping and generally get carry on. :laugh: The Academies also offer week-long summer seminars--a full week of college visit. They include lots of seminars, PE and getting yelled at. They try to set up CVW with cadets/Mids that you might be on a team with. Dd didn't do her AFA one as she knew what she wanted after her Navy one.

 

 

Navy does the candidate visit weekends on an invitational basis only (ie, they invite candidates to the weekends). But it is also possible to go an hear a candidate guidance briefing a couple times a day. CGO doesn't provide tours, but the visitors' center does. Much of the campus is closed to visitors (living areas, most classrooms) but you can still see quite a bit.

[Jane in NC]

I think that there are two levels of college visits. There is the general walk-around-the-campus visit which is good to do with 10th and 11th grade students. Then there is the more in-depth visit for colleges on the shorter list--schools that your student is seriously considering or to those he has been admitted. This is the case when I would encourage an overnight. At a minimum, the student should attend a class and hopefully meet with a professor if your student has an idea what he wants to study.

 

You really can't wait until senior year to visit all the schools. With the demands of online classes or dual enrollment, seniors often are tied to schedules that don't permit visits when students are on campus. That is really the ideal time for a clearer idea of what the campus is like.

 

My suggestion is to start with a few walk around visits--arranged with admissions or on your own if you are driving by a campus and need to stretch your legs. That way your student will be accustomed to seeing facilities and won't be wowed by them down the road when he needs to find a program or campus into which he is a good fit.

[MIch elle]

Does your ds know what he wants to study? If so, compare the major core requisite classes at each college he's interested in. A degree in biology at one college can be very different from another college. Compare specific core requisite and core elective classes.

 

For my ds' major, there is a HUGE difference in requirements between colleges. We compared all four years of the curricula at different colleges for the major (from the college websites or from materials gathered at visits). The math and science requirements for the degree varied greatly from college to college as well as the depth and breadth of major requisite electives offered.

[Nan in Mass]

I agree with Jane about doing a few visits before doing the more serious open house visit (or meeting prof's and shadowing a student). We did a few visits of local colleges that we weren't interested in first, just so my children learned the routine and got used to the idea. This served another purpose, too - looking at a few factors like big/little or public/private. I squished all these sorts of visits into one week (two weekends and an afternoon covered 4 or 5 schools) because visiting was super stressful for my children, to the point where they pretty much begged not to do them. I watched them fly to other countries to stay for weeks with less stress than hopping in the car, driving half an hour, listening to a short info session on a college they knew they weren't going to go to, following a tour guide around, filling out a card with contact information, and then driving home again.

 

Be sure they can spell their intended major and know their zipcode and school grade before you go lol so they don't have to come find you when they will have to fill out an information card.

 

So - the colleges we visited had three available sorts of visits: campus tour, open house, and "other arrangements". They requested that we sign up beforehand to do any of them, even the campus tour, but they also said that if signing up weren't possible, to just come. And for the ones we visited, it was perfectly possible to park off campus or in visitor parking and then just walk around by yourself without talking to anyone. Otherwise, you drive to the admissions office, park in visitor parking, and go in to the office and ask if it would be possible to take a tour. Or you sign up beforehand and do the same. For an open house, there will probably be students directing cars, signs saying where to go, a much larger presentation, and special presentations about housing, particular departments or majors, sports, financial aid, and clubs.

 

It is also possible to ask to speak to an admissions person so you can ask questions. I explained that we homeschooled and therefore I was the guidance counselor and had questions (to explain why it wasn't my student asking). My student also had his own questions, ones about his half of the application. Youngest did most of the inquiring for himself, but when middle one was a sophomore, I spoke to two or three about our general approach and it was very enlightening. Well, except for Marlboro College - they didn't want to talk to me AT ALL. I had questions about waht they wanted on the transcript and what else they wanted included, and when I explained, they looked at me like I had two heads and wouldn't answer my questions. Sigh. I think somebody probably had given them instructions not to talk to parents, only to students, and they were following the directions a little too literally. Fortunately, middle one decided that he didn't want to pay for something that looked so much like what he had been doing all the way along, so it didn't matter that I couldn't get any information about my half of the paperwork from them. UMass was difficult to get in touch with via email (of course, being super busy, no surprise) and two others that we spoke to later, at application time, were very helpful and glad to talk to me about what *I* was supposed to be doing.

 

I found visiting rather fun but also disconcerting because it brought back so many memories of being in college.

 

Nan

[Jane in NC]

I agree with Jane about doing a few visits before doing the more serious open house visit (or meeting prof's and shadowing a student). We did a few visits of local colleges that we weren't interested in first, just so my children learned the routine and got used to the idea. This served another purpose, too - looking at a few factors like big/little or public/private. I squished all these sorts of visits into one week (two weekends and an afternoon covered 4 or 5 schools) because visiting was super stressful for my children, to the point where they pretty much begged not to do them. I watched them fly to other countries to stay for weeks with less stress than hopping in the car, driving half an hour, listening to a short info session on a college they knew they weren't going to go to, following a tour guide around, filling out a card with contact information, and then driving home again.

 

Some kids have been visiting college campuses throughout their lives. My son had gone to Duke for some TIP classes. A campus tour was always included. Maybe some informal tours before applications are considered could ease anxiety?

 

Another thing that we did as homeschoolers was use a university library. This has the greater benefit of helping the student become familiar with the Library of Congress system used by most colleges (as opposed to Dewey Decimal in community libraries) but also a chance to pick up on a college vibe. A number of 4-Hers in my state are regularly on the NC State campus for vet school programs (if they are in livestock clubs). Many 4-Hers feel comfortable on that campus at a pretty young age.

 

 

Be sure they can spell their intended major and know their zipcode and school grade before you go lol so they don't have to come find you when they will have to fill out an information card.

 

 

I hire teens for a summer program. Not sure why this is but I interview a fair number of boys who do not know their zipcode--occasionally a girl who doesn't know it either. So yes--make sure your teens know their snail mail address in its entirety!

[Nan in Mass]

 

 

Some kids have been visiting college campuses throughout their lives. My son had gone to Duke for some TIP classes. A campus tour was always included. Maybe some informal tours before applications are considered could ease anxiety?...

 

 

Maybe it would with other students. Unfortunately, despite having visited his brothers numerous times, done the splash program at MIT, and going to the community college with his brother since he was 12 and then taking classes there himself for several years, my youngest still did not want to visit. Visiting meant possibly living there some day, something he just wasn't ready to think about. He's willing to now as a senior, and he was willing to when he was young enough that it all seemed very far off in the future, but there was a period in the middle, during which he was actually a community college student lol, when he was extremely reluctant to make any visits. Hopefully mine are atypical, though.

 

Nan

 

ETA - The MIT splash program was great for giving high schoolers a taste of what college is like. They choose classes, receive a schedule, have to find their classes, etc. It is only a weekend long and it is not expensive. If you are within easy reach of MIT, you might want to think about sending your high schoolers in order to give them a taste of college. The classes are fun and range from esorteric math topics to basic Russian to building with duct-tape. MIT students teach the classes. It is an all day Sat, all day Sun program, but you sleep at home, not at the college. Good practice!