Post by WeNeed3 on Nov 8, 2010 19:05:22 GMT -5
What to See, Ask and Know on a College Campus Tour
By Emily Driscoll
Published November 08, 2010
As early-admission applications roll in, hopeful high school seniors have college on the brain.
Once your collegiate plans start to solidify, experts suggest going beyond a virtual campus tour and actually visiting your dream school to get a sense of campus life.
“You can’t get a sense of what you really like until you step on that campus,” says Dr. Jill Greenbaum, college coach and author of the blog MajorInYou. “You get a few books in the mail and they’re beautiful, but they’re really promotional materials for the college. You look at the Web sites and they’re also beautiful and often easy to navigate with lots of great information, and yet you can’t get a sense of what’s the energy there.”
While campus tours can be mundane and led by students sticking to a script, tours are crucial to the decision-making process.
Here’s how to take advantage of your college visits to ensure that you walk away feeling like you have enough details to make an informative choice.
Before you set foot on campus, make a list of what is important to you to get from a college.
“What are your interests academically and socially? What size schools are in your comfort range, how far do you want to be from home, what kind of opportunities are in extracurricular [activities]?” Greenbaum suggests asking yourself.
Don’t waste precious time on a tour on basic information such as size and student-to-faculty ratio that can easily be found on the college’s Web site, says Shannon Duff, college advisor and founder of Collegiate Compass.
“Know the academic programs, that way you can ask questions,” Duff says. “You can really use your trip to ask more substantive questions instead of wasting time on campus just getting to know the basics.”
Visit While School is in Session
Although it may be convenient to visit your top choice(s) during spring break or semester breaks, you will get more out of your experience if you see the day-to-day life of students.
“A lot of times, families choose the summertime to go on a visit or a tour,” says Greenbaum, “that’s not really a representative sample of who is living on that campus every day during the school year.”
Actually Take the Tour
Most schools offer campus tours conducted by current students, which can give a fresh perspective to potential students.
The experts agree that while you should inquire about the academic side of college life (majors offered, curriculum, etc…), it’s important to ask about the social and extracurricular aspects as well.
“You’re not just going to college for one reason,” Greenbaum explains. “Academics may be primary for you and you want to know about that, but there is a social side. College is so different than high school…[you have to] see if you’re going to be comfortable in that environment.”
Attention Parents: Don’t Hog the Spotlight
While parental support is important, experts warn parents might have to take a step back and let the students ask questions.
“It’s OK for parents to occasionally ask a question, but parents need to understand that this is about the student, not them,” says Jim Miller, coordinator of enrollment research at the University of Wisconsin-Superiorand president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. “Colleges want the students to be asking the questions.”
If you want a more personalized tour, the experts encourage you to “shadow” a student through the admissions office to see what campus and dorm life are really like.
“[You can] really get a sense of who are the students that are here and what are they really thinking,” according to Greenbaum.
Go to Class
Speak with the admissions office in advance to arrange for a student escort to take you to a class. It may seem intimidating, but it is the only way to get a feel for college-level academics.
“You want to get a sense of who are the students in these classes, their energy level, how they are interacting with the professor, what’s the professor’s approach to the subject matter and toward the students,” says Greenbaum.
If you have time, Miller suggests going to a few different kinds of classes to see the range of teaching and learning styles.
“One might be a larger, lecture-type of experience a college would have for a general education class as well as something that would be a lab or discussion-oriented class where you can really see the relationship and the dialogue between students and professors,” he says.
Explore Off Campus
Be sure to take a stroll through the college’s town, to see life beyond the campus.
“It’s important for a lot of kids to have an escape from campus, that outlet from campus,” Duff says. “It’s the change of scenery and [asking if] you can find that here is an important question to ask.”
Discovering the culture of the area around you can be vital to your college experience.
“You want to know if this is a place where you’ll be comfortable and what kind of opportunities are,” says Greenbaum. “Hopefully the college is not a world onto itself so it does have interactions with the community and you want to know what that is and what that’s like.”
www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/11/08/ask-know-college-campus-tour/
By Emily Driscoll
Published November 08, 2010
As early-admission applications roll in, hopeful high school seniors have college on the brain.
Once your collegiate plans start to solidify, experts suggest going beyond a virtual campus tour and actually visiting your dream school to get a sense of campus life.
“You can’t get a sense of what you really like until you step on that campus,” says Dr. Jill Greenbaum, college coach and author of the blog MajorInYou. “You get a few books in the mail and they’re beautiful, but they’re really promotional materials for the college. You look at the Web sites and they’re also beautiful and often easy to navigate with lots of great information, and yet you can’t get a sense of what’s the energy there.”
While campus tours can be mundane and led by students sticking to a script, tours are crucial to the decision-making process.
Here’s how to take advantage of your college visits to ensure that you walk away feeling like you have enough details to make an informative choice.
Before you set foot on campus, make a list of what is important to you to get from a college.
“What are your interests academically and socially? What size schools are in your comfort range, how far do you want to be from home, what kind of opportunities are in extracurricular [activities]?” Greenbaum suggests asking yourself.
Don’t waste precious time on a tour on basic information such as size and student-to-faculty ratio that can easily be found on the college’s Web site, says Shannon Duff, college advisor and founder of Collegiate Compass.
“Know the academic programs, that way you can ask questions,” Duff says. “You can really use your trip to ask more substantive questions instead of wasting time on campus just getting to know the basics.”
Visit While School is in Session
Although it may be convenient to visit your top choice(s) during spring break or semester breaks, you will get more out of your experience if you see the day-to-day life of students.
“A lot of times, families choose the summertime to go on a visit or a tour,” says Greenbaum, “that’s not really a representative sample of who is living on that campus every day during the school year.”
Actually Take the Tour
Most schools offer campus tours conducted by current students, which can give a fresh perspective to potential students.
The experts agree that while you should inquire about the academic side of college life (majors offered, curriculum, etc…), it’s important to ask about the social and extracurricular aspects as well.
“You’re not just going to college for one reason,” Greenbaum explains. “Academics may be primary for you and you want to know about that, but there is a social side. College is so different than high school…[you have to] see if you’re going to be comfortable in that environment.”
Attention Parents: Don’t Hog the Spotlight
While parental support is important, experts warn parents might have to take a step back and let the students ask questions.
“It’s OK for parents to occasionally ask a question, but parents need to understand that this is about the student, not them,” says Jim Miller, coordinator of enrollment research at the University of Wisconsin-Superiorand president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. “Colleges want the students to be asking the questions.”
If you want a more personalized tour, the experts encourage you to “shadow” a student through the admissions office to see what campus and dorm life are really like.
“[You can] really get a sense of who are the students that are here and what are they really thinking,” according to Greenbaum.
Go to Class
Speak with the admissions office in advance to arrange for a student escort to take you to a class. It may seem intimidating, but it is the only way to get a feel for college-level academics.
“You want to get a sense of who are the students in these classes, their energy level, how they are interacting with the professor, what’s the professor’s approach to the subject matter and toward the students,” says Greenbaum.
If you have time, Miller suggests going to a few different kinds of classes to see the range of teaching and learning styles.
“One might be a larger, lecture-type of experience a college would have for a general education class as well as something that would be a lab or discussion-oriented class where you can really see the relationship and the dialogue between students and professors,” he says.
Explore Off Campus
Be sure to take a stroll through the college’s town, to see life beyond the campus.
“It’s important for a lot of kids to have an escape from campus, that outlet from campus,” Duff says. “It’s the change of scenery and [asking if] you can find that here is an important question to ask.”
Discovering the culture of the area around you can be vital to your college experience.
“You want to know if this is a place where you’ll be comfortable and what kind of opportunities are,” says Greenbaum. “Hopefully the college is not a world onto itself so it does have interactions with the community and you want to know what that is and what that’s like.”
www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/11/08/ask-know-college-campus-tour/