College Visits

LeahL · 06-24-2005, 02:44 PM

Any advice before I go?
What should I absolutely NOT do?

thisyearsgirl · 06-24-2005, 02:52 PM

There was a great thread in the Parents' Forum about visiting a while ago: Not so obvious visit suggestions

LeahL · 06-24-2005, 03:10 PM

Yes, thanks. Someone suggested we ask our tour guide what kiind of grades she/he had to get in. I like this, any other suggestions to get past the slick view book presentations?

thisyearsgirl · 06-24-2005, 03:41 PM

Grades are very subjective and probably shouldn't be used to determine how likely you are to get in, since it varies so much between schools. A better indicator is the 25-75 range of SAT scores, which you can find in any college guidebook.

LeahL · 06-24-2005, 04:03 PM

actually grades are very important, and i know all that part. I just want to know how I can really get the flavor of a school when I visit it. Has anybody had any funny, stupid, illuminating experiences when they visited colleges?

mikemac · 06-24-2005, 04:05 PM

you can find lots of info on the web about campus visits. For example, http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergra...s-campusvisit/
or http://education.yahoo.com/college/e...pus_visit.html
Also most of the books about college admission have a chapter about visits.

IMHO you are not visiting at a good time if you go in the summer, though. Go read the parents forum thread "One-line descriptions of each LAC culture from enrolled students" and you'll see how different each school can be. You could never discover this by just walking around campus.

One more thought. Make a list of questions you'd like to find out about college, then write down your answers after visiting each school while impressions are fresh. Include the queries "the thing that suprised me the most was ...", "my favorite thing was ..", and "what I disliked most was ..."

To really get the flavor, you ask? When you've narrowed down the list you're considering, contact the schools in the fall and ask about an overnite visit. Most colleges can arrange this where you spend a nite in the dorm with a volunteer host.

thisyearsgirl · 06-24-2005, 04:10 PM

Of course grades are important, but a 3.7 at one school can equal a 4.0 at another. It's just not a very good way to measure your chances.

LeahL · 06-24-2005, 04:36 PM

Mikemac-
Yum, yum, the LAC one liners were just what I was looking for. To keep the analogy going, they are very tasty....liked the one about
Wesleyan is a lot like Swarthmore, but with more drugs and fewer Quakers---funny.

bananainpyjamas · 06-24-2005, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Someone suggested we ask our tour guide what kiind of grades she/he had to get in.

Am I the only one who, as a tour guide, would be a little put off by prospectives asking me about my grades/SATs?

thisyearsgirl · 06-24-2005, 04:44 PM

I think I would be, yes.

LeahL · 06-24-2005, 04:51 PM

yes, it was out there, but the girl was on her last stop in one of those very, very long (and rather pointless) bus trips to regional colleges

bananainpyjamas · 06-24-2005, 04:57 PM

Still, things like GPA and test scores are personal, and IMO it's tacky to ask someone you don't know about them (unless they're protected by the anonymity of the internet - lol). I wouldn't do it. The tour guide is there to help you get a feel for the college so you can see if it's right for you, not to help you get in.

LeahL · 06-24-2005, 05:20 PM

I'm not arguing that that was a very out there question. But tell me, if you were a tour guide at a college, how did they train you? Besides walking backwards that is. How would you answer those gnarly quetions visitors ask?
Did you even get any toughies?

bananainpyjamas · 06-24-2005, 05:31 PM

I don't understand your point. Of course people will inevitably ask rude questions, but that's no justification for asking those questions in the first place. You said you liked the idea of asking a tour guide about their GPA. All I'm saying is that it's tacky at best, completely inappropriate at worst.

If someone I don't know asks me a personal question that I don't want to answer, I'd either give them a vague answer (e.g. "My grades were high enough") or ignore them altogether (which is what I saw a Duke tour guide do to a parent who asked about his SATs).

BTW, I am not a college tour guide, but I have given tours for the magnet high school I just graduated from, and have dealt with prospectives. I will give them as much advice as they want when it comes to tips for preparing for the entrance exam, how to fill out the applications, etc, but even when asked, will not divulge my own test scores or grades. They don't need to know that.

LeahL · 06-24-2005, 05:39 PM

Oh, I misunderstood. I thought that you had been a tourguide. The real issue for me isn't about the question per se. The crux of the matter is that the college presents itself in a certain way when we visit it....it markets itself. What I'm trying to figure out is how best to get beyond the pat presentation.....
this isn't about tour guides, it is to access the "real college". Someone suggested to me to look at bulletin boards, stay over nigiht, go to social events,even check bathroom graffiti...these are great, does anyone have any other ideas?