Visiting Colleges
Making the Most of Every Trip
By now, it's no secret; you really should visit a campus before you decide to invest your (or your parents') hard-earned money into their tuition. Over my 15 years in higher education, no singular message has remained as absolute as the importance of visiting a college. However, something has become increasingly clearer to me – nobody ever says "how" to do it right.
This article attempts to help strategize how to maximize your time at a campus. The biggest hole, in my opinion, for students who visit a campus is that they do not know what to look for when they are there. They see all the "trees." They make assumptions about the "forest." The real problem is that when a student comes to college – they will enroll in that "forest" they never really notice when they visited.
I would like to offer some homework for a prospective student to prepare before starting off on their visits to college campuses. It's easy homework. I recommend asking a series of 5 personal questions and you write down the answers before you ever start the car. They are questions that point to the very things that are important to you, and not what you have been told should be important to you in a college. These questions will force you to address what kind of "forest" you would like to be in, regardless of the "trees" out front.
Question #1: What are the KINDS of majors that you find interesting?
Note that we are not asking about "your" major here. The average freshman changes his/her major 3-7 times during their college years, and I've heard estimates as high as 75% will change in the first year. So, only searching for "your" major is actually closing off your research to majors you might have an interest in pursuing in favor of one that you are statistically unlikely to pursue long term.
Question #2: Do you have courage to approach faculty or staff for help you need?
Often, students believe that a low faculty-student ratio means the faculty member will provide close, personal attention. It's a nice dream, but it's not necessarily true. The real issue is whether or not you will be likely to knock on their door when you need help. The number of students in a classroom is a question about square footage, not education. If you're looking for 1:1, it'll have to come from you.
Question #3: How far are you willing to walk to get to a class you do not like?
Everyone would make the trip for their favorite class, but would you make a long trek for a class you despise? This answer is what you have to use to assess to determine if a campus is too big or not. Most people don't know what to do when they hear how many "square acres" a campus is, and this question helps put that into a perspective you can understand.
Question #4: How often do you think your parents will visit? Really, how often?
Students often feel like they need to "go away" or "get out of town" when they choose colleges. Yet, most campuses would report that the vast majority of their transfer students are really local students who went "away" at first and are now returning "home" to complete their degree. It's really best to investigate why you want to go "away." Most often, we hear to get away from the family. In reality, however, that family doesn't really come over much and most residence hall security keeps anyone from popping in unannounced. A person can save so much hassle by having a candid discussion with parents about realistic visit expectations after enrollment, so some of the great, local campuses can be in consideration from the start of your search.
Question #5: Do you have the discipline to graduate in 4 years?
So often, students visit schools with successful athletic programs, picturesque vistas, famous alumni, or even something as silly as "knowing" someone who went somewhere. Often they look at costs and hope for financial aid to help. I always encourage students to remember that it takes 16 credits per semester to average a 4-year graduation. All the costs that are out there are usually annual, and most people factor that over 4 years of study. Most students take longer. Five to 6 years has become the norm. While there are many good reasons for a slower progression toward a degree, please know that these should be calculated, communicated, and anticipated as possible.
These questions are designed to focus your attention on that which is important to you. Once you have these answers, you can use this information as a common-ground filter through which you can experience all the different colleges on a consistent set of characteristics. By knowing what kinds of expectations you will have in college, you can finally determine if a college actually fits with your lifestyle. Without the introspection, almost all students can say they "like" it, but they will have a hard time saying why. Take a few moments, answer the questions, and see which college fits the way you want it to be. It may make a world of difference in the visits.
Editorial provided by Steve McKellips, Director of Admissions, University of West Florida.
