You have finished your AP exams, sent off your college applications, asked your teachers for recommendations, and now you are started to receive letters back from colleges that will determine your fate for the next four years. One of the best ways to choose between colleges is to take a college campus visit. Here are some tips for a successful college campus visit.
First, make a list of all the colleges you’d like to visit. If you have applied only to colleges nearby, you should still plan on taking a formal campus visit to get to know the students, teachers, classroom sizes, and the atmosphere of the campus. If your top colleges are across the country, discuss with your parents about which colleges you can visit. Call or email the campus admissions office to set up a campus visit. Ask for a tour, a night in the dorm, a cafeteria pass, and a classroom visit or two. Also ask if you can schedule a time to meet with a professor or dean of the school that you are most interested in.
Second, prepare for your campus visit by creating a list of questions for each of the people you’ll meet. If you are staying with a student in the dorms, ask them what dorm life is like. What do they like about it, and what don’t they like about it? What’s it like living with a roommate? What is the cafeteria food like? What are classes like? How do they usually study, and where do they study? What fun things are there to do on campus, or in town? A student in the dorms is a valuable source of information.
