Are you feeling overwhelmed deciding which colleges would be best to visit? Fear not! In Part Two of our three-part, step-by-step guide to Crafting Your College List, we will help you narrow down your list of schools to research further and then, potentially, visit (either in-person or virtually). Visiting a college is a valuable experience to determine if it is the right place for you to continue your educational journey and to answer the all-important question: “Can I picture myself at this school?”
Look for our next post of our three-part blog series, Crafting Your College List, Part III: Balancing Your List, or go back and read our first post, Part I, Best-Fit College Features.
Research Your Colleges
Start by researching colleges online so that you can get a feel for what the school has to offer. Check out colleges’ websites and social media platforms: read about their academic programs, extracurricular activities, and college culture. In addition, there is a wealth of virtual resources available online from third-party organizations, such as CampusReel and Appily. These sites, and others, offer a variety of different approaches to the college search with detailed video content and ways to hear from actual students at the schools. For example, Appily – in addition to letting you build your own list of potential colleges for comparison – helps you add to that list by asking you to input your preferences such as school size, distance from home, academic interests, etc. and then presenting you with other schools that could be a good fit based on your answers (similar to other social “match” apps).
Plan Your Visits
Once you have gathered information about the universities you’re considering, start planning your visits. Admissions events can be held virtually or in-person. Register for an information session with admissions staff or student ambassadors either online or on campus. Some schools offer live virtual sessions, which provide an opportunity to interact directly with people from the school, while others have pre-recorded sessions that you can watch on your own time. Make sure to register for admissions events, if possible, as many schools will track this as demonstrated interest. Taking advantage of these opportunities will get you one step closer to figuring out if the school is a good match for you.
While virtual tours and information sessions can be very helpful in narrowing down your list, once you know the schools you are seriously considering, an in-person visit (if financially and logistically feasible) is often the most informative and enlightening experience to help decide if a school is the right fit for you. Being on campus gives you a unique glimpse into what life would be like for you at this school. Try to make the most of your trip and plan to visit other nearby campuses. Many major metro areas are home to multiple colleges and universities, so this can be a more cost-effective way to achieve multiple in-person visits (especially if you have an idea of where, geographically, you want to go to college).
Make the Most of In-Person College Visits
Here’s how to make the most of your college visits:
- Register in advance for a tour and information session.
- Collect helpful paperwork, such as financial aid information and a campus map.
- Visit campus facilities that are important to you, such as the dining hall, fitness center, library, student union center, and dorms.
- Speak with students on campus to get a feel for the school community. Don’t be afraid to ask current students questions you may have – especially regarding aspects of the school that might not be addressed on the university’s website or social media platforms (What is the social life like on campus? What do students like to do for fun on the weekends? How accessible are the professors outside of class?).
- Arrange meetings with professors in your fields of interest. Ask them why they chose to teach at the college and how they would describe the student body.
- Meet with staff in specialized offices, such as honors programs or learning centers.
- Explore the surrounding community around campus.
- Take notes during or after your visit. What were the features that seemed like a good match for you? What aspects did you not like about the college?
- Write thank you emails to everyone affiliated with the university that you meet – including admissions officers, faculty, and student representatives – as soon as possible after your visit.
Senior year is a hectic time, jam-packed with exciting events. Before you know it, it will be time to make your college decision. Therefore, it is important to try to schedule visits prior to your senior year. According to the CollegeBoard, the spring of junior year is an ideal time to visit campuses for potential students.
At Collegiate Gateway, we feel that it’s best to spread your college visits over your entire junior year so that you can be reflective about the process and continually incorporate your feedback from visits as you develop your college list.
Whether you are using virtual exploration, in-person visits, or a combination of both, you will start to see your preferences emerge more clearly with each tour, and your list of potential colleges will come into focus.
Up next is Part Three of our blog series, Crafting Your College List: Balancing Your List from Reach to Realistic, where we discuss how to develop the best possible college list for your interests and preferences. For Part One of our blog series, see our article Crafting Your College List: Best-Fit College Features.
For more guidance, set up a complimentary consultation to learn about our admissions consulting services.
Whatever your question, Collegiate Gateway is happy to help you navigate this exciting process!
