This can help you decide whether the college is right for you.
Students planning to visit college campuses throughout the year, make
sure a parent calls the high school office to excuse your absence.
College visits are considered excused absences.
When planning your campus visits, make sure to allow time to explore
each college. While you’re there, talk to as many people as possible.
These can include college admission staff, professors and students.
Below are some other things you can do while visiting.
Note that some activities, such as meeting with an admission officer
or staying overnight in a dorm, might need to be set up in advance.
Gather Information
Find out what you need to do to apply and see if the college’s class and major offerings are what you want:
- Take part in a group information session at the admission office.
- Interview with an admission officer.
- Pick up financial aid forms.
- Sit in on a class that interests you. If classes are not in session, just see what the classrooms are like.
- Meet a professor who teaches a subject that interests you.
- Talk to students about what they think of their classes and professors.
- Get the names of the people you meet and their business cards so you can contact them later if you have questions.
Explore the Campus
Get a feel for student life and see if this college is a place where you will do well:
- Take a campus tour.
- Talk to current students about life on campus and the college.
- Check out the freshmen dorms and stay overnight with a student, if possible.
- Visit the dining hall, fitness center, library, career center, bookstore and other campus facilities.
- Talk to the coaches of sports that you may want to play.
- Walk or drive around the community surrounding the campus.
Check Out Campus Media
Tune in to learn what’s happening on campus and what’s on students’ minds:
- Listen to the college radio station.
- Read the student newspaper.
- Read other student publications, such as department newsletters, alternative newspapers and literary reviews.
- Scan bulletin boards to see what daily student life is like.
- Go to the career center and learn what services it offers.
- Browse the school’s website and any campus blogs.