First, you need to research some colleges, if you have no idea where you want to attend. You can research online, meet with college reps who visit your school, or go to some college fairs to visit with college reps about their campuses and programs. When you have found some colleges that seem to fit your needs, it’s time to think about a visit. There are group visits and individual visits. Group visits are set up on a particular day for a particular group of students – think Junior Day, Health Care Day, Business Day, etc. You register online or with a call to the school to attend the visit day. Most of the day will be planned for you, and you will be there with a medium to large group of students, typically. Individual visits you set up for yourself. Again, you can usually schedule this online through the admissions website of the college, or you can call the admissions office and set this up. You should take a parent with you to all college visits. Parents will think of things to ask that you, as a student, may not think of. Parents need to see the school, as well. Be sure to find out how your high school handles college visits. Do you have a set number that are excused? Can you go any time as an excused absence? Regardless of their policy, I’m sure your parent/guardian will need to contact the school and excuse you for the day.
When setting up an individual visit, be sure to ask to speak to someone in any academic program(s) in which you have interest. Also, if you have an extra-curricular interest, such as a sport, music, dance, cheer, radio, newspaper, for some examples, be sure to ask to talk to someone in that department as well. Your visit will likely include a campus tour, which will include dorms, class rooms/class room buildings, the library, and any other parts of the campus the college feels are important. If possible, eat a meal in one of the cafeterias. When I took my three sons on campus visits, we nearly always were able to have a free meal in a regular cafeteria. It was great to see what types of foods they offered and to experience the atmosphere in the food service area – usually lots of college students were around when we ate. If you feel they are only showing you really nice dorms, which may or may not be available to freshmen, be sure to ask about the freshmen dorms. I will never forget when my oldest son first moved in to his dorm. We all looked at each other and said, “They didn’t show us THIS one!” J (We were certain they only showed us the really nice upperclassmen dorms and apartments.)
When I was a high school counselor, one thing I asked my students was, “If you make a college visit and don’t like the campus, is that a waste of time?” We nearly all always agreed that it was not. If you don’t like it, that is very valuable information. Maybe you can pinpoint what you didn’t like and maybe you can’t, but either way you can take it off of your list of possibilities, and that is ok and even good. Regardless, after every visit, you should come away with some type of feeling. You may think it felt absolutely great! You may think it was ok. You may think it just didn’t feel right. Regardless of the feeling, trust your gut. Often you can’t explain why you did or didn’t feel “right” on a campus, but your gut does know.
Keep track of your visits. You might even want to jot down things you liked or didn’t like and anything else you want to remember about the college and the campus. Make note of the town/city in which the college is located. If it matters to you what is available in the town, be sure to check and see what amenities are there. See what you might be able to do off campus for fun. To some students, the town/city matters a lot, but to others it doesn’t. Also make note of how far away it was. Again, to some students distance matters and to some it does not.
Each student is different and has different wants and needs. You shouldn’t usually take someone else’s opinion of a college or campus; just because a good friend or close relative did or did not like a specific college doesn’t guarantee you will feel the same way. The only way to know for sure is to visit the campus yourself and see how it “feels.” If it has what you need and want for programs, activities, living quarters, and anything else that seems important to you, AND you just feel “right” on campus, chances are it is a possible good choice for you.
Campus visits can be tons of fun! I enjoyed every one I’ve ever been on, and believe me, I’ve been on many! Take the time to visit the schools in which you have interest. You won’t regret that time spent, and it will definitely help you make the best decision for your post-secondary educational experience.
Mary Joan - ICAN Hiawtha Center
