Making the Most of Your College Visits
This spring I took a whirlwind, but exhilarating visit to six Boston schools. With this fresh in my mind, I have some tips on planning your college visits and maximizing your time on campus.
SIGN UP EARLY
Make arrangements well in advance for a tour and information session at the admissions office. If possible, sign up to sit in on a class or do an overnight visit.
Contact the admissions representative for your region to see if you can meet. In addition to getting to know you, the rep might be able to help arrange the following:
Have lunch with a student with similar interests
Take a lesson on your instrument
Meet with a professor in your prospective field
AVOID OVERBOOKING YOURSELF
Give yourself plenty of time & try not to overload your day!
Map your visits out ahead of time. Things often take longer than you think they will and inevitably less is more!
TAKE TIME TO EXPLORE
Check out the campus on your own,
Look around the fitness center, library, bookstore, academic buildings, and the performing arts center. Try to visualize what your life would look like if you lived and studied at the school for four years!
Stop and scan the bulletin boards to find out more about how students spend their free time and to see which activities you might like to join. Read the school newspaper.
Grab lunch in the dining hall and talk to students to get their unedited view of the campus.
VISIT THE SURROUNDINGS
Wander around the area around the campus.
Have dinner nearby & take in a concert or theater performance at the college in the evening.
DOCUMENT YOUR VISIT
Make sure to take notes & photos because after a while all the schools tend to merge together.
The App Evernote is useful. It allows you to take notes and store your photos in a file that you can return to later.
Lastly, make it fun! I arranged one day of my Boston tour with a fellow consultant, and we enjoyed our tour and talked about what we had learned over lunch. So consider bringing a friend to make the experience less stressful! Having a buddy will help you feel brave enough to approach students and then you can compare notes later!
Amy Mednick is a senior college advisor at Best Fit Education. Contact BFE if you are looking for guidance in finding best-fit colleges to visit and to learn more about our advising process.