We all know that visiting the college or university that your student wants to attend is essential. But how do you make the most of this visit? And how can you give your student the most latitude he or she needs to make the best decision? I have a few ideas about that, and they’re organized into before the visit, during the visit and after the visit phases.
Before the visit
Prior to driving to a campus, make sure both you and our student are prepared. Some things you’ll want to include in the visit are time with an admissions counselor, a campus tour, and time with a faculty member. You’ll also want to ask to visit a classroom, preferably in the student’s intended major. This means that your student has to do the research before you get on the road. Make sure that he or she has thought about things such as campus size, the kind of social life they want, and location. And if they’re determined to be a nursing major, you won’t want to drive two ours to find that the college doesn’t offer nursing. Also, please make sure your student doesn’t plan to visit a school just because her best friend or significant other is attending. This is supposed to their school for her goals, rather than someone ese’s.
Spend time with your student generating questions on the things they want to learn about during their visit. Common questions people ask during campus visits include:
What’s the social life on campus, especially for new students?
How many students (or what percentage) participate in internships while enrolled here?
What one piece of free advice you would give to a student to make the most of their time at their university?
You might also develop a checklist of things they want to see while they’re on campus, including, the cafeteria, more than one classroom, and a lab in their intended major (if the major uses labs). Help your student arrive at their campus visit armed and ready. Another point: it’s perfectly fine to visit a campus on major visit days like open houses. A good reason is that you and your student can see everything the campus has to offer at one time. One negative is that the campus is putting its best, not its regular feet forward. The admissions staff and their students are all bright and happy, and it’s hard not to get swept in all that niceness. So, if you visit during these days, keep both you and your student’s expectations realistic.
During the campus visit
Your student will want to put his or her best foot forward during the campus visit. Have them dress casually, but not too casually, and you should do the same. So, no ties and fancy dresses (unless you already know that’s the campus vibe, like at schools with strict dress codes). And suggest that they smile throughout the day. While the major purpose of the visit is to see if the student feels comfortable and finds the right school, the people you meet will be checking them out as well. Not to worry about this: after all, admissions officers are very skilled at seeing through shy or maybe loud students to see the good person beneath. On the other hand, if those people sense an attitude, it can always com aback to haunt the student. Note: Approach and admission interview like a job interview. There’s more on the admissions interview in a separate blog post.
During the visit, take pictures of the campus while you’re walking around, and take some notes along the way as well. Encourage your student to do the same, even if it’s just a few brief comments recorded on their phone. This will give you something to talk about later. As you walk around, look at the way the student interact with each other. Do students seem happy and engaged? You’ll likely see groups of students studying on campus in classrooms, lounges, and in the library. Just have the student ask himself: could I see myself sitting over their studying for my classes?
If your student is able to attend a class, make sure they stay for the entire class as a courtesy. While sitting there, do students in the class seem engaged, and does the faculty member seem competent and able to lead class discussions effectively? The question we always ask is can he see himself attending this class for real? When my daughter and I visited the school that became her first choice, we attended a class in her major, and that helped push her over the line. A classroom visit can make all the difference, whether for good or ill.
How is the food in the cafeteria? If you visit on a regular day, it won’t be special. Once you get past the fast that it’s likely to be bland, see what your student thinks. And if you don’t get a meal with your visit, head to a snack bar after the visit is over, get something to eat or drink and sit checking out the students there. Your student will get a sense of the campus “vibe” while sitting and watching. And don’t forget to pick up a copy of the campus newspaper. What kinds of issues are being talked about in the paper? Encourage your student to ask the tough questions too. If she’s concerned about a party school atmosphere that will be overwhelming, have her ask a student who isn’t on the admissions staff about the party school rumor.
And while you’re on the campus, let your student be the driver. Think of yourself as a driver’s education instructor. All you really have in the car is an extra brake, and you have to let your student drive the car, as nerve-wracking as that may be.
Have them spend time a member of the faculty as well. You can be there, but let the student drive. Have him ask about internship opportunities, class sizes and what graduates are doing. Finally, two more ways to check fit. Spend some time with just your student on campus and away from the admissions office, and take some driving around the area. If he was to walk five blocks off campus, would he feel safe? Can he get to services like an optometrist if his glasses get broken?
After the campus visit, do a debrief with your student. If you sense that asking rapid fire questions will make them push you way (does this sound familiar?) then just give you own comments. “I really liked the tour; I was surprised to see so many XX…” And see what she says. That may be all she needs to start talking. In much the same way that you usually don’t ask “How was you day?” to get a reaction, you don’t want to ask that now. “I didn’t know those things mentioned in that class” Your student will fill in the blank. And you can feel perfectly comfortable asking the basic question: “can you see yourself here?”
Once you get home have your student follow up with the admissions office with a thank you note — a handwritten note that is, so the staff knows you appreciated their time. If your student was really impressed with the visit, have him send notes to the faculty member he spoke with as well. There’s nothing like impressing one of their faculty members before they even start classes.
Here are a few questions from the College Board, which can be found here: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/know-yourself/6-steps-to-get-the-most-out-of-a-campus-visit
During your visit, write down some notes about your experience. What did you see that excited you? Do you feel you could explore the library for days? Can you picture yourself on stage in the theater? Do you want to get a closer look at the equipment in a lab? Are there aspects of the college that you don’t like? If so, what are they?
Something to keep in mind: your student also shouldn’t feel bad when he decides not to attend a school because the school just doesn’t fit him: that’s the whole point of the visit. And don’t let a pretty campus that doesn’t fit your student’s needs seduce them. That beauty will pale in a very short time if she’s not able to pursue her passions.
The bottom line? Getting the full benefit of the campus visit is clearly an active, rather than a passive process. And the more active you and your student are the better it will be.