Advice on college visits? - Page 2

nikki1920 · #1 03-29-2008, 03:03 PM

I would say visit it on a regular day, outside of an "admissions visit" group setting. That's the one thing I wished I would have done when I visited Carolina. If its out of state, how much does it cost to get to the airport? Can freshmen have cars? What is the surrounding community like when school is NOT in session? And ditto to the showers/dorm rooms/residence halls. How far is it to walk from the dorm to the main campus? Is there free campus transportation? Check out the libraries. Visit on a weekend when school is not in session. Then write down what you've observed, and try not to let the parents' influence your decision TOO much. *wink*

jon1856 · #2 03-29-2008, 03:11 PM

Besides talking to the Admin Office, see if you can talk to the professors.
And perhaps spend some time in the Student Union area and talk to the students directly.

If really bold, walk over to Greek Row

KSUViolet06 · #3 03-29-2008, 03:27 PM

*I agree with SCHEDULING a visit via admissions as opposed to attending on the large group "open house" days. You have more time to walk around and ask questions that way (and the lines in the cafeteria aren't as long).

*Drive around the town that the school is in. See where the nearest restaurants, laundromats, gas stations, grocery stores, etc are located. Remeber this is not just where you would be going to school, but where you would be LIVING for most of the year. You might not want to live somewhere where the nearest grocery store or mall is 20 minutes away.

*Get the scoop on area apartments. Find out which ones are nice, reasonably priced, and conveniently located. Why? Because he likely won't want to live on campus forever so it's good to see what the area has to offer in off campus housing.

*Also try to get insider info about the meal plans and cafeterias. Is it all fast food or junk food crap or are there places that actually serve meals that are reasonably balanced? This may not seem like a big deal now but four or more years of eating unhealthy cafeteria food will really take a toll on your weight and overall health.

*Really LOOK at the dorms, particularly the ones in which he/she would be staying in if they decided to go there. Are they gross? Ugly? Run down? Take note of that.

*Get the scoop from students about what most students like to do there. Not clubs and stuff, but what you can do on campus just lounging around for free. Example: KSU shows free screenings of movies on the lawn, there's a bowling alley in one of the dorms, and coffee shop in the student center.

jon1856 · #4 03-29-2008, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

*I agree with SCHEDULING a visit via admissions as opposed to attending on the large group "open house" days. You have more time to walk around and ask questions that way (and the lines in the cafeteria aren't as long).

*Drive around the town that the school is in. See where the nearest restaurants, laundromats, gas stations, grocery stores, etc are located. Remember this is not just where you would be going to school, but where you would be LIVING for most of the year. You might not want to live somewhere where the nearest grocery store or mall is 20 minutes away.

*Get the scoop on area apartments. Find out which ones are nice, reasonably priced, and conveniently located. Why? Because hw likely won't want to live on campus forever so it's good to see what the area has to offer in off campus housing.

*Also try to get insider info about the meal plans and cafeterias. Is it all fast food or junk food crap or are there places that actually serve meals that are reasonably balanced? This may not seem like a big deal now but four or more years of eating unhealthy cafeteria food will really take a toll on your weight and overall health.

*Really LOOK at the dorms, particularly the ones in which he/she would be staying in if they decided to go there. Are they gross? Ugly? Run down? Take note of that?

*Get the scoop from students about what most students like to do there. Not clubs and stuff, but what you can do on campus just lounging around for free. Example: KSU shows free screenings of movies on the lawn, there's a bowling alley in one of the dorms, and coffee shop in the student center.

I agree. I did not say in my last post that I was a campus tour guide. And we did walk thru dorms, class rooms, Student Union et al. And I did include Greek Row.

KSUViolet06 · #5 03-29-2008, 05:34 PM

*Take a tour of the main library on campus. Chances are your kid will be spending quite a bit of time there. Note the size of it and the resources available. It might not seem important now but when you get to upper level courses and need to use it more, it will matter if the school has alot of library resources. I know that it mattered alot to me that KSU has the 2nd largest library in Ohio (next to OSU) and tons of research help available.

*Get as much info as you can about PARKING, particularly for freshmen. Can he have a car on campus as a freshman? Are there certain passes/parking lots for freshmen? How can students access their cars if they can't have them on campus?

*Find out if a ton of students go home on the weekends. That might not be a big deal if the school is in a big city (where there's lots of stuff to do), but in rural or small town setting, it can be really boring if all the students leave to go home on Friday by 3pm.

*See if he can sit in on a class that most freshmen in his major at the school typically take. For example, if he is going to major in Marketing, see if he can sit in on Marketing 100.

*Be sure to take some time and tour his academic college/department building. For example, if he is an Accounting major, take a walk around inside the College of Business and see what's in there.

aephi alum · #6 03-29-2008, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

*Get as much info as you can about PARKING, particularly for freshmen. Can he have a car on campus as a freshman? Are there certain passes/parking lots for freshmen? How can students access their cars if they can't have them on campus?

Sideline to this: Find out if he even needs a car. At an urban campus, you usually don't. Between the public transportation system, maybe a bike, and your own two feet, you can get around well enough. Even on a more rural and spread-out campus, a bike may suffice.

AOIIalum · #7 03-30-2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aephi alum

Sideline to this: Find out if he even needs a car. At an urban campus, you usually don't. Between the public transportation system, maybe a bike, and your own two feet, you can get around well enough. Even on a more rural and spread-out campus, a bike may suffice.

Thanks to everyone who's made suggestions, but a huge Thank You to aephi alum for this one. He won't have a car but it's a great idea to think about transportation options.

KatieKate1244 · #8 03-29-2008, 04:23 PM

While echoing everything here, check into the commuter rates. Both schools I've gone to had very high commuter rates, and the campus would literally die each evening around 5. My last college had 2,000 folks go there, but less than 500 lived on campus. Now, that wouldn't be so bad if you lived in or around large city, but if it's a suburban or rural campus, it can be a huge drag.

aephi alum · #9 03-29-2008, 05:22 PM

Definitely go during the week. Yes, this may mean pulling your son out of school for a day or two, but you're not going to get a feel for the campus by visiting on Sunday morning. (My parents forbade me to miss even one second of high school, so I didn't get to do things like sit in on lectures.)

If there is a freshman core curriculum, he should sit in on a lecture or two. If he knows or has a good idea what he wants to major in, he should sit in on <whatever it is> 101.

Let him off his leash. (Can you tell I had overprotective parents?) Let him meet and chat with other prefrosh and current students without mom and dad hovering around. He'll get a better idea of campus life that way - nobody will say "This is a huuuuuuge party school!" in front of mom and dad. Meanwhile, you might chat with other parents, take a walk around campus, or check out the city/town where the school is located - look at off-campus housing, restaurants, cultural opportunities like museums, etc.

As for early decision, keep in mind that it's binding. Your son should only apply early decision if he knows he wants to go to ABC U and nowhere else. Early action is non-binding. But if you and he are comfortable pursuing early decision or early action, go for it! I applied early action, and even though I sent in a few regular applications too, it was a huge load off my mind when I got my acceptance letter and I knew I didn't have to stress about college applications any more.

Good luck with the college hunt.

christiangirl · #10 03-30-2008, 09:01 PM

My sister and I visited a school on just a regular day. No big open house and for one school, we didn't even have a tour guide, we just walked around. It was helpful to see what things looked like without being scrubbed and scoured because guests were coming. Also, when you eat in the cafeteria, don't be shy about approaching a table of students and asking them how they like it. Most of them will give you a REAL review of the school and what the atmosphere is like. A tour will tell you the technicalities, but if you want to know what it's really like being a student, then get out and talk to people. Ask them about the weather, the teachers, the neighborhood and the city. A lot of students will not mind answering these questions and one or two might even be willing to keep in contact with you in case you come up with some more questions later.

SoCalGirl · #11 03-29-2008, 09:46 PM

If your (or spouse's) chapter is on campus call ahead and see if you can take a couple of the collegiates out for a casual lunch or dinner. This will give your child some time to ask as many questions as he can think of in a relaxed atomosphere. If he wants to go greek it could help there too.

alum · #12 03-30-2008, 09:23 AM

In addition to what SoCalGirl said, if you have a coworker or friend who has a child enrolled at a school that you are visiting, make arrangements with that student for coffee and a chat. That really helped my daughter to get the real opinions from current students that were not filtered through the admissions office PR machine.

Read some issues of the student newspaper while you are on campus. Many prospectives find the student newspaper provides a good wrapup of what was going on at the school as well as the political and philosophical leanings of the student body.

It may sound odd, but look at the school calendar. If the school starts classes after Labor Day or has a very lengthy Winter Break, the Spring semester may not end until late May or early June. Many employers and internships want the students earlier rather than later. If the school has a huge winter break but expects the students to do something related to their field during the time, do they help place the kids into positions for that month in January.

Kappamd · #13 03-30-2008, 02:57 PM

One thing that I didn't think about when I was looking at schools is whether they are on a semester system or a quarter system. I think most schools are on semesters now, but I ended up at one that wasn't and hated it. Now, being at school on semesters, I realize how significantly different my education would have been.

VandalSquirrel · #14 03-30-2008, 03:07 PM

Read the paper for the local town/city and get a feel for the area or neighborhood. Not only can you get the dirt on relations between the school and the town, but also find out about activities and services. Even flip through the phone book while you're visiting or go online.

For example if your kid has a medical issue is there a doctor that specializes in it, and if not is there a traveling clinic for a rural area? You can also read about crime off campus which certainly affects students. Also look at the housing dates because sometimes there are extra fees for staying for part of a break even if a student is required to be there for an activity, or housing shuts down completely and you need to make other arrangements ahead of time.

KSUViolet06 · #15 03-30-2008, 04:01 PM

*Find out the school's policy about living on campus. How long does the school require you to live on campus? Are there exceptions made for students who want to live in Greek housing? For example, my school required students to live on campus for 2 years, but would grant exceptions for students who either owned a home or signed a lease to live in a sorority/fraternity house.

*Take note of dorm amenities like laundry facilities, computer labs, etc.

*Ask about security/safety on campus. Does the university have it's own police dept or is it patrolled by the city/town cops? Alot of larger schools have their own PD on campus. Are the dorms secure? Can non-students get into the building without keys? Are the dorms patrolled by campus security?

*Find out about fitness/workout facilities. Does the school have a gym/student wellness center for students to workout? What amenities does it offer?