Flickr user Ashish Gupta
College visits play an important role in the college short-listing process. Getting a first-hand look and feel of the campus and its facilities can help you make an informed decision about which college fits your personality and academic goals. Making a college visit checklist is the best way to make the most of your campus visits.
So why exactly do you need a checklist before your actual visit?
There’s a lot to see and do on every college campus but time is limited. You don’t want to show up without knowing anything at all about the school. If you go without a plan in mind, you are more likely to just follow the tour guide and see what they want to show you. In doing so, you will miss out important things.
What Your College Visit Checklist Should Include
Here are a few things you must do before you go on a college visit. Make sure to include these on your college visit checklist and tick them off as you finish each one.
#1 – Go through the college’s website
And by this we don’t mean just scan the site. Go through each relevant page in detail. Make notes of the information you find about your areas of interest, whether it related to academics, extracurricular activities, or any other facility. More importantly, make notes of the information you wanted but could not find. By making notes you will be able to ask the right questions on your college visit.
While going through each college’s website, don’t forget to look into their clubs and other organizations and make those that are of interest to you, so on your campus visit you can talk to members of that particular club or organization to get more information.
#2 – Check out the college’s social media pages
Today, all colleges are active on multiple social media sites. Go on and check out their social media pages. What are your thoughts and feelings as you go through the posts? Do the students sound upbeat, lively, and friendly or are most of the posts complaints about the professors or the facilities? College students tend to be very vocal about their likes and dislikes and going through social media posts can be very revealing.
# 3 – Schedule your visit to Colleges near you
Campus tours fill up quickly so call and schedule your visit in advance – at least three weeks in advance. It is always best to schedule a campus visit while school is in session so you can attend a class in session, talk to a couple of professors, talk to students on campus, and have a meal in the cafeteria. All of these will give you great insight into what to expect if you decide to choose that particular college.
# 4 – Make travel arrangements
Start making travel arrangements as soon as you’ve confirmed your visit date. This is especially important if the college is in another state. Tickets and hotels are always cheaper when you book in advance so don’t wait for last minute and pay more unnecessarily.
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