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Visiting Education
Getting the Most from Your Campus Tours
By Sue Marquette Poremba
admissions counselor, talked with the Financial Aid Office and inspected the residence halls, try to allow time to jump off the pre-programmed schedule and do some individual investigation of your own." Of course, the standard tours and information sessions won't cover everything, so admissions officers suggest the following tips: 
Ask if your prospective career requires certification or accreditation. Erin Finn, director of enrollment management at Harcum College, says that certain fields require employees to have certification beyond a degree. This is particularly true for graduates getting an associate's degree, but also for future teachers and engineers.
Also ask about job placement. Does anyone assist students in the job hunt? Are internships available? What kind of job offers have been made to graduates in the past five years?
Read the flyers on bulletin boards and pick up a copy of the campus newspaper. Patricia Goldsmith, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid for Scripps College, explains that flyers and newspapers provide current information on campus activities and issues.
Ask the student ambassador questions, such as: What does he like about the school? What doesn't he like? What are weekends like? What do you think of auditorium-sized classes? If a student ambassador isn't leading your campus tour, ask if you can meet with a student in your prospective major.
If the prospective student is going to live in the dorms, ask if any appliances are provided and what appliances cannot be used in individual rooms? Do rooms come with a refrigerator? If not, does the school rent them? Can coffee pots or microwaves be used in the room? What is the lighting like? How many outlets are there in a typical room? Is the room air-conditioned? Is carpeting allowed? What about bunk beds or extra furniture?
If possible, sit in on some classes. Observe the size of the class, the professor's teaching style and the student participation. Ask to visit labs or see student projects or research. Take a break in the student union. "Visiting students should want to see the college in action," says Mike Frantz, dean of enrollment services at Wilkes University. "Visitors should be eating in the cafeteria to assess food quality and to eavesdrop on the conversations occurring around them if they really want to hear unfiltered student opinion."
Admissions counselors advise that prospective students should take notes during their campus visits. The more colleges a student visits, the harder it becomes to keep track of the pros and cons. Also, if possible, says David Lesesne, dean of admission at the University of the South, visit no more than two campuses per day. Students begin to tune out if they visit too many colleges in a short time span, he says. Besides, to get a good feel for a college, a prospective student needs to spend some quality time on campus and around its student body, faculty and staff.
"I believe that the college decision should largely be about 'fit,'" says Frantz. "Fit can mean that the student meets the academic profile of the college, intends to study a major that is offered at that college, the college is in a convenient location, etc. Fit should also mean that the student feels comfortable on that campus. The only way to judge the latter kind of fit is to visit the campus and tune in to how you feel during the visit."