Virtual tours, college viewbooks, attending area meetings, talking with current students – all of these provide a look at life at a particular college. Unfortunately, none of these can take the place of a campus visit when you’re trying to determine just how well a college fits you. Whether compiling your initial college list or making your final decision about which college to attend, it’s best to get a first-hand look at life at that institution.
If you’re just beginning the college search process, start your visits close to home. Even if you don’t plan on attending a local school, visits to nearby institutions will allow you to more carefully focus on such factors as size, diversity of student body, type of institution, majors and courses of study. Visit both public and private colleges, residential and commuter campuses, universities and liberal arts colleges. Once you’ve determined the characteristics most important to you, you can begin to visit colleges that are further away. And since college vacations rarely are at the same time as your high school spring break, this month may be the perfect time to visit.
Seniors who have begun receiving admissions decisions will want to pay a second (or third) visit to each campus they are seriously considering. This is the time to go beyond the group tour. If possible, arrange an overnight visit with a stay in the dorms. Attend classes and talk with current students about what they like and don’t like. Eat at the dining hall and check out the library. Picture yourself attending that school, and determine where on your list of acceptances that college falls. If you have received offers of admission from several schools, let those at the bottom of your list know that you will not be attending. Sending notification to those colleges early is the right thing to do—you’ll be opening a place for a student for whom it’s the perfect fit!
If you’re planning your own spring break college tour, you might first register at www.goseecampus.com. The site provides a convenient way to organize campus visits. In addition to facts about each college, the site includes links to the visit registration page, as well as resources such as campus maps, event calendars, restaurant recommendations, and travel directions.
