If they care so little about their tour guides ...

[Pizzagirl]

I agree that some may not see it as useful, but the ability to lead groups of people and speak extemporaneously and confidently is a tremendously useful life skill in general. Indeed, my (STEM) daughter learned that skill in her high school job where she did something similar in concept, and my (non STEM) son is learning it through participation in a particular campus EC where he has to address large groups. I'm not saying every kid should rush out and be a tour guide, but it is shortsighted to think that it's not a useful skill to develop.

[mathmom]

I agree, while I never gave campus tours, one summer one of the things I did was give tours of the National Cathedral in Washington DC. Good practice for standing up in front of zoning and architectural review boards.

[Bay]

I agree that public speaking is a valuable skill for everyone to develop, my point was that STEM majors may seek out other jobs that are more directly related to their careers and that could be why some people noticed a dearth of STEM tour guides.

[cromette]

Actually, most engineering majors I know wait until summer to work, and then get high paying co-op jobs, which makes working during the school year unattractive and often unnecessary.

The tour guide would be a great job for them during the year if they could do it without it detracting from their studies. Public speaking and being able to field questions is a must if you want to move up in engineering today.

[Marsian]

Over the years, a large percentage of our guides (or guides from which to choose) have been economics majors, with the rest in everything from engineering to drama. It's a joke in our family -- another econ major!

[austinareadad]

^ Most of our guides have been pre-meds. Even at MIT and Harvey Mudd we had pre-meds. They may have had different majors, but what we remembered was that they were pre-meds. I guess it was just a strange coincidence.

[rhumbob]

I toured midwest LACs with both my S and D over the years. The visits were important to both of their decisions. IMO the tour is just one piece of the puzzle. S and D had done a lot of thinking / research before our trips so the schools were real possibilities. I insisted we limit the school count and just visit one school per day.

We would arrive early and walk around campus. Go to the admissions presentation and take a tour. Then hang out for a while. We always ate in the cafeteria (sometimes the college comps you however we paid when necessary). We would spend some time in the library and watched a softball game at one school.

My kids are both reasonably outgoing so they would sometimes talk to students when appropriate. We always visited when school was in session and on just a regular school day, not some sort of visitation day.

I think they got a pretty good feel for the schools. One has graduated and the other is a freshman. Both are happy with their choices.

Getting to a school is expensive and time consuming. I can't see putting that much weight in your tour guide.

[NewHavenCTmom]

I haven't taken the time to read all of the posts.... but I get the feeling that some are condoning the fact that an unpaid/volunteer tour guide can act unprofessionally. I feel that no matter what a person is doing, they should put their all into it. Would it be ok if my dd was not professional in her duties as a docent or a tutor b/c she doesn't get paid? Or how about the candy striper at the hospital? Or the student who volunteers at a nursing home?? Its not like these students are forced into it. I just feel that when one takes on a task, they should give it their all. Professionalism should be top priority at all times. Paid or unpaid. If not, don't sign up!

[gladiatorbird]

DS was so put off by the tour guide at CalArts that he couldn't wait to get away. The guide was a drama major and the tour was truly more "Me Show" than anything else. He made people hold hands and twirl with him. My son was like a bug pinned on a board. It truly was awful. A shame, because son was hot on the school before the 'tour from he**. DS tried to remain objective, but his ardor for CalArts just wasn't the same after. I still wonder if DS would be at CalArts now if not for....

[dodgersmom]

Originally Posted by gladiatorbird

My son was like a bug pinned on a board.

What an absolutely priceless description!!!

[gladiatorbird]

The guide also made us form a Conga line, with hands on hips of the person in front of us. We snaked thusly through dark, subterranean CalArts corridors. The stricken look on my son's face as we Conga'd past each other in the narrow hallway still haunts me.

Yeah, CalArts came off his list that day.

[bbccpp]

After the conga you hit the gonga.

[SteveMA]

gladiatorbird-I hope you let the admissions staff know what the tour guide was asking people to do. No WAY would I have done that, nor would our DS.

We've had a lot of English majors for our tour guides.

[gladiatorbird]

^^Bbccpp--yes!

My studious, academically-minded son had doubts about attending an art school (even the heavyweight in animation) and this tour cemented that for him. The subsequent tours were all first-rate--UC San Diego, USC, LMU, Chapman Dodge. We talked about contacting CalArts admissions, but son did not want to and I deferred to him. I agree that it would have been wise, but we just moved on.