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How to Make the Most out of your Campus VisitsMay 31 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Tours created in the perspective of the school often accompany college orientation - often making the place look more beautiful than it really is. For me, because I couldn't afford to visit the school prior to admission there, I could only depend on them. Get the perspective of somebody who has been there recently or is still attending. Professors at orientation who were former alumnus can only give you a purely academic perspective. You'll also want to know about life on campus, the commons (and hangouts), the dorm life, and the areas outside of campus (bars, movie theaters, bowling alleys, malls, supermarkets, eateries, etc.) It helps to first ask around (an elder sibling's friends or others) to see if anybody has the time to show a more 'impartial' tour of the place. Because we're talking about college, that also includes the areas outside of campus. Because of the importance of the dorms to meet your first group of friends (for those who will be living away from home - and friends), the location of the dorms with respect to campus/classes is very important. Get to know the characteristics of each dormitory hall. For example, there are 'graduate student' areas that tend to be more quiet, a 'cooking' hall with high kitchen activity (not just for cooking), a 'freshman' hall for 'wild' stuff, etc. Also find out about the dorm food, if you can, especially if you can't cook or cannot afford to have take-out all the time. If you have a car or expect to have travel by car available, consider testing out the local 'college' eateries - pizzerias, chinese food, bars, etc. Make sure you like it or at least tolerate it because you'll be living in the area for four years (or more?). Not to promote drinking, you'll want to hear about the bar scene (even though you probably won't be of legal age yet - but I'm sure there are solutions ). That also applies to the parties, especially if you're gonna swing. If those things aren't important, don't bother asking about them or finding out (even though I usually find each school having a 'reputation' that is passed on to their alumni whether or not alumni participate in certain activities). And because it's SCHOOL we're talking about, definitely try to get a hold of what you want to be studying. Not that it's the sole factor in choosing a college, but certain academic programs are stronger than others. In many cases, I've seen many students transfer in and out of schools because of the abundance of or lack of academic disciplines offered. Some schools (usually 'small' colleges vs. 'large' universities) offer less while others offer almost everything. If you're into sports, you'll want to know about the sports program. When visiting, find out firsthand from the students about the teams (are they good? do they draw crowds?, etc.). As for sports activities, ask about where you can participate and possibly, check out the facilities themselves. Some dorms have indoor gyms where you can train! Although this is a gross generalization, you may also want to know about the 'people' there. There are the local folk that may be different from the folks at home you're used to. Consider the diversity of the students attending. Some schools are dominated by the local population while others are primarily in-staters or even out-of-staters (including foreign exchange students). Find out, especially if you're looking for diversity. That also helps when considering race relations on campus. It's beyond the 90's but sadly, many things haven't changed all that much. Some schools have strong academic reputations that is often accompanied by extreme competitiveness. Make sure you're comfortable with that. At a comedy club this year, I heard a person in the audience say that she hated her experience at 'XXXX University.' Maybe it was too competitive for her liking? There are some things you just cannot tell with a campus visit but some things, including the social scene, can be gathered when you observe the student to student interaction when shuffling from class to class, when eating lunch on campus, or simply hanging out on campus (in the halls, in the libraries - where's the noise?, commons, dorms, etc.). I remember a friend of mine brought two friends of hers to visit our school before they made a decision. Since I had been involved in many schools of discipline (and double-majoring in two fields of opposite alignment), they turned to me for advice on the school's strengths and weaknesses in academic disciplines. They stayed over at the dorms and a large group of us brought them to the places where we went to hang out during the weekends. I guess it eventually helped a lot because they ended up attending and as far as I know, they had a good time. You can either make better use of your campus visits by asking multiple individuals about their views on all these topics or ask a person who knows the school really well. Just make sure you use your own judgement on the matter.  |
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