Procrastinate.
You will place an unfair burden on your family by waiting until your rising
senior summer. Experience touring campuses in Grades 9-10 makes you a savvy
consumer by learning what is important to test and what is smoke-and-mirrors
designed to impress rookie tourists.
Pick the wrong time.
Summer and weekends may seem convenient, but you want to see the living, breathing
campus in action. An April Monday provides a completely different feel than a
July Sunday. And such opportunities such as waiting in the Starbucks line gives
you a chance to talk up a current student on what school is like.
Settle for the
"show" dorm. A college will make the dorm everybody sees as
appealing as possible. Ask to see they boys/girls dorms that freshies actually
stay. Be persistent if you get a response about the actual dorm rooms being out
of bounds. Explain you've come from far away and need to see the real deal to
consider the college.
Spend more time
in the nearby town or peeking into the local restaurants than sampling campus
food and picking up a campus vibe.
Neglect the
surroundings a few hours in any direction. That may sound like the opposite
of the last tip. But there is more work to do. Once you have done your
intensive campus visit, learn about the Big City a bus ride away. Scan the
parks for running, biking or climbing, rivers for kayaking, museums for areas
of interest, sports venues for games of choice, shopping options, restaurants,
movie theaters. A number of small towns developed around small colleges. If you
get bored after seeing things one or two weekends in a town of 2,000, imagine
what Year Four will be like for your cosmopolitan soul.
Watch the tour guide
walk backwards. Kids, do not try this; s/he has done it so many times it is
second nature. Sometimes I suspect there is a for-credit class on heel-then-toe
walking. Practice in your bedroom for your bemused cat, not on the sidewalk
with an unseen crack. Listen and take in the guide’s spiel as important nuggets
of hands-on perspective often give great insight to campus life.
Passively participate. The campus visit is a great time to gather as
much first hand information as possible. You are the only one who knows
specifically what you consider most crucial to your decision. Take
time to do your research and prepare questions before the visit, and most
importantly, ask questions of tour guides and admission officers. It is not up to mom or dad to lead the charge; pretend they have a pointy stick for the slow spots and give 100%.
Waste your time
checking out the collegians of your preferred sex. They aren't interested in
high school seniors. Eye candy is one thing, but focus on connecting with a
potential department mentor, not imagine your role in episodes of The Bachelor.
This goes double when mom and dad are within sight. Enough said.
Fail to take notes.
You need to bring a checklist. After three campus visits your brain will jumble
up which one had what. By five, it is ridiculous. Guaranteed. Evernote, Google
Keep, Apple Notes, an old-fashioned notebook, whatever. Take pictures, too.
Organization is an absolute must for every trip. Your opinions will change as
you add school visits. And this will give you ideas for future questions.
Ignore the weather.
You already know if you are a warm weather person or somebody who loves four
distinct seasons. You have to consider the number of steps between classes and
activities during rainy season at the University of Washington, winter at
UW-Green Bay and anyplace south of the Mason-Dixon Line without air conditioned
dorms and classrooms. Learn about the bus service and check out the campus maps
at Stanford and Duke, both of which top 8,000 acres.
Skip schools two time
zones away. Virtual tours and university visits in your home area are
common. If something clicks, though, it cannot hurt to ask parents if they
would be willing to fly 1,000 miles or so to sate your curiosity. Suggest it as
part of a vacation if necessary.
Leave after the
glowing hourlong report from your tour guide. Definitely hit the library,
the food venues, the favored major department building, ask students clever
questions. A few extra hours should help you answer the BIG question: Will
I be happy here?
- Mike Ryan
- Mike Ryan
