Say you’re in your junior or senior year of high school, and some of your friends who graduated are home on break from college. This is the perfect time to do a little reconnaissance! After all, you’re smart enough to know that college probably won’t be like TV shows and movies, but you still wonder about certain aspects. Here are a few questions to ask a college student:
How do you like your school?
At this point, you don’t want to settle for a one-word answer or a shrug. Encourage your friend to explain aspects of college that they like and dislike. This question can also lead to asking your friend why they chose their school in the first place.
What’s there to do for fun?
Most colleges and universities try to provide fun activities for their students. Not all schools provide this to the same degree, and asking about it will help you realize what level you might want from your future school. Things like intramural sports, clubs, Greek life, and all those school-sanctioned events can fall into this category.
What’s the surrounding community like?
Some colleges live in their own little bubbles. Others are integrated with the surrounding town or city. Most are somewhere in between those two extremes. Asking your friend about this can help you realize what kind of off-campus community you need.
What are classes like?
Especially if your friend graduated from the same high school as you, this question can help you mentally prepare yourself for college-level coursework. They’ll be able to make comparisons that you understand rather than just vague “College homework is hard” from your teachers.
Why you should ask a college student questions
Regardless of whether or not you’re looking at the school, your friend is attending, getting an idea of what college life is like can help you in your own search. So text, Skype, visit, or call and ask your college buddies whatever burning questions you have.
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