<p>Back to the original post. Pomona has 1500 students. In a one-day visit, it’s unlikely that a visitor would really meet many more than 15 current students, so that would be 1% of the whole. And if it seemed that everyone was a certain way, that’s probably not true - if around half of the 15 appeared a certain way, that would be sufficient to color one’s impression of the larger group. So it’s very easy for a student on a college visit to wind up making a decision on whether to apply to or attend a college based upon a very tiny percentage of a student population. </p>
<p>I’ve always said that college visits are of limited value. Here’s what a student is most likely to pick up from their visit:</p>
<p>I liked / didn’t like the architecture.
I liked / didn’t like the geographic setting.
My student tour guide was / wasn’t hot.
I did / didn’t see many people who looked like me.
I do / don’t like to dress in the most common mode of attire that I saw.
The weather was nice / the weather sucked.</p>
<p>That’s pretty much it. Certainly campus visits have their value, but they’re also fraught with shortcomings and pitfalls, and it’s good to consider that in advance.</p>