Advice on college visits?

[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. 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]

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]

*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]

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]

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.

[Munchkin03]

Also don't forget--if financial aid is even the slightest concern, going Early Decision will require you to commit to a school before seeing what they'll offer you. Also, most of the ED schools that I'm familiar with do not offer merit scholarships, either. I did Early Action back in the day (and was accepted!), but my alma mater has switched to ED.

If at all possible, see a dorm other than the one that's featured in a campus tour. I know at Brown the nicest freshman dorm, smack in the middle of campus, is the one they feature on tours. Unfortunately, a ton of first-years come in and expect their dorms to look like that one.

If school will be far from home, see how easy it is to get to the train station or airport without a car. A few weeks ago, I visited a friend from college who's getting his PhD at Stanford. It's not that easy to get to the campus to the train station, and even then you have a few transfers from the train station at Palo Alto to SFO. Also, shuttles and cabs can be less than reliable. In college, I almost missed flights waiting on a shuttle that was late, full, or never came.

Speaking of transportation--are there shuttles around campus to pick up students late at night from the library or other campus places? Especially if you're thinking of an urban campus, or one that's really spread out, this can be a huge safety issue.

Finally, let your child make the decisions! I know it's easier said than done, especially when you're the one paying. I really like how my parents stood back and gave me food for thought, but they didn't dominate campus tours or anything like that. Basically, they held their tongues until the admission letters came. I really appreciate that now, especially since I do college interviews for my undergrad and end up dealing with helicopter parents!