Tour de College
With the world’s premier cycling race (the Tour de France) well underway this month, many students and families are embarking on a tour of their own: the summer college visit tour. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a marked increase in visitors to WPI, and we consistently have numerous families each day from all over the country and world. Just yesterday I was speaking with one family from the San Francisco bay area of California when they realized the family next to them lives just miles away.
If you are among the thousands of families making one or more college trips this summer—even if only to a handful of schools—you should be sure to make the most of your visits. Not only is someone spending money to travel to these locations, finding the college for you is important and should be taken seriously. You’re not too cool to visit colleges, you shouldn’t feel like you are being dragged by your parents, and you shouldn’t just sit back and take everything at face value.
So, how should you make the most of your visits? Here are a few of my suggestions:
- Take notes. I’m not suggesting you write down every piece of information you hear (in fact, many of the statistics and details will be provided in print) but rather make note of what makes each institution unique. What do the student tour guides spend most of their time discussing? What’s the most important piece of the admissions presentation? Is the campus well maintained? Are people on campus outside of the Admissions Office friendly and helpful?
- Imagine yourself here. Don’t forget, you are going to be living at the college you choose for the next four years. You want to find the right fit. The right fit should take into account all aspects of college life: academics, social life, surrounding area, activities on- and off-campus,
- Ask thoughtful questions. College is a big decision and a big investment. You want to get as much information as possible, and you want to be sure that all of your questions are answered. Whether your parents are paying none, some, most, or all of the bills, they’re probably going to want to get answers to questions—some the same, some different—too. For example, it’s easy to find the student-to-faculty ratio number. I’d suggest asking a more thoughtful question about that number to find out what it really means. That number is irrelevant if the faculty do research in their labs or offices all day and your classes are taught by graduate students. Perhaps, to a student, “Tell me about how you interact with faculty members on a daily basis,” or “What opportunities have you had to get involved with faculty research?”
I could go on. In short, make the most of the time you spend visiting college campuses. Most people wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it. Most people wouldn’t buy a house without going in it. Most people would ask questions when buying those big ticket items. You should too when it comes to your college search process.
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