January 2024
Getting ready to schedule campus visits for the spring? Follow these tips to ensure a quality visit worth your time.
Visiting a college in person is one of the most important pieces of research you will do in the college search process. It’s a time to get a true feeling of the campus atmosphere. This is your opportunity to determine if this college is full of ‘your people’ or if it may be a bad fit. Below are some guidelines on visiting campuses.
BEFORE THE VISIT
- Register online or call the admission office to schedule your visit. Visits should always be pre-scheduled. Often, colleges do not allow drop-by visits. It is okay to do a drive through of a campus if you are in the area.
- Consider both individual visits and larger visit days, depending on availability.
- Notify the college of any special needs or requests you might have.
- Do your homework. Research their websites and review emails that the college sends to you before the visit.
- If you are accepted or considering applying Early Decision, consider visiting the financial aid office.
DAY OF AND DURING THE VISIT
- Arrive well ahead of time. Parking on a college campus can be difficult!
- Ask thoughtful questions.
- Ask to see a freshman dorm room and eat in an on-campus dining facility.
- Take pictures. Consider having a shared album of college pictures with your family. These can be helpful to review later in the process.
- Take good notes – what did you like and dislike about the campus?
- Get the names and contact information of the people you meet.
AFTER THE VISIT
- Send a thank you note or email to the people you met on campus.
- Reflect as a family. Share your thoughts on each college you visit.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR TOUR GUIDE ON A COLLEGE VISIT
- Are you happy to be here?
- What would you do differently in your college search process?
- If you could change anything about this college, what would you change?
- How did you meet people in your freshman year?
- Where is your favorite place to study?
- What is your favorite campus dining option and what is your favorite meal there?
- Where do students hang out off campus?
- Do professors teach the classes? Are there teaching assistants? In what ways do the professors get to know the students?
- Is it easy to get homework help on campus?
- What is the largest class on campus?
- What types of students are most successful at your campus?
As you tour campus, look around. Do the students look happy? (Take into consideration time of year with this question – is it exam week?) Do the students wear the gear of their own college or of other colleges? Pick up a college magazine or newspaper – what are the students protesting? What makes them happy or excited? Snap a picture of the events bulletin board in the student union or the residence halls. Are there plenty of activities on campus that week? Or does it seem bland and boring? What else do you see and hear? Use all your senses!
St. Charles Preparatory School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
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