![]() If a special prospective student day isn’t offered or doesn’t work with your schedule, sign up for an institution’s tour or information sessions in advance. When planning a visit, look for special prospective student days offered by many colleges which feature extended tours, dorm visits, and the opportunity to sit in on classes. Scheduling activities ahead of time is a great step for ensuring that you’ll be able to see and experience everything on your list when traveling to a school. Likewise, if your student is interested in going to school in the city, there’s no sense in visiting rural schools. Is your college-bound student planning on studying mathematics in college? If so, you should only be visiting schools that offer mathematics degrees. What Parents Should Do BEFORE a College VisitĪlexander Graham Bell said, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” This is particularly true of college visits.ĭoing some basic research on colleges and universities before scheduling a visit can avoid wasting time on schools that don’t match your student’s interests. Keep reading to learn how to maximize your college visits as we take you step-by-step through the process-and for even more information for parents about college visits, read our article Parents, Make the Most Out of College Tours With Your Teen. These impressions can be beneficial, allowing students to demonstrate their understanding of an institution in a college interview or if writing a supplemental college essay.īecause parents are investing a considerable amount of time, energy, and often money into college visits, it’s imperative for them to make the most out of their investment. Students will have gained insights into the culture of the college and have knowledge of what the institution values (research, religion, or sports, for example). Committing to a school also means committing to a location, so it’s important that the surrounding shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and outdoor recreation align with a student’s lifestyle.Ī student’s personal experiences at a school can be invaluable when it comes time to apply. In addition to getting a feel for a school’s campus, students can also get an impression of the area around a college and make sure that it meets their personal needs and wants. Only so much can be gleaned from a school’s website and brochure-walking around campus, interacting with students, reading the college newspaper, checking out the bulletin boards, and eating in the cafeteria all give a prospective student a first-hand idea of what life will be like at a particular college. Perhaps the most notable of the benefits for students is that it allows them to get a real feel for the place. The Benefits of a College Visit to Students Attending a local college fair, taking a virtual tour, or contacting an admissions representative are great ways to demonstrate interest that don’t involve excessive-and often expensive-travel. The fact is that the effect of a college visit will vary depending on the school for example, schools like Dartmouth College clearly state that a student’s completed application is all the demonstrated interest required while their Ivy League peer Yale also doesn’t track campus visits or contact with admissions staff for use when evaluating applications.Įven if the school your student is applying to does value demonstrated interest, there are numerous ways for a student to do this without visiting the school’s campus. ![]() The belief that visiting a college will improve a student’s odds of acceptance is often overstated. Limited Benefits of College Visits for Admissions Consequently, when it comes to time-consuming activities like college visits, parents and students need to maximize their efforts to make the most of every moment and avoid adding stress at this already tense time in their student’s academic life. Depending on what stage of the application process students are in, their schedules are jammed with prepping for tests like the SAT, participating in extracurricular activities, building a college list, crafting an essay, and securing letters of recommendation. In addition to being busy maintaining a high GPA, many college-bound students have schedules packed with activities.
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