<p>jhuston,
With a 36 ACT and an interest in physics, definitely visit Caltech and H Mudd.</p>
<p>I think the only time S wore cacki pants was on interviews, and sandals (which he hasn’t replaced in 4 years). Its too bad you are visiting Caltech when classes are not in session.</p>
<p>jhuston:</p>
<p>Congrats to your son!
If your son is a prospective physics major, he should ask about research opportunities both during the school year and during the summer; he could ask about the relative strength of theoretical vs. experimental physics. If he is already interested in a sub-field (say, low temperature physics or nuclear physics), he could ask about the offerings in this field. Chances are that the college has a website which lists all the departments, faculty, course offerings and gives an idea of the research and interests of individual profs, but this is something that he could discuss further with the chair of a department. When my S toured a college, he found out from the Chair that 8 senior profs were expected to retire in the near future or had already retired and that it would take a while to replace them.<br>
Many other questions should be directed at students. If at all possible, visit when the college is in session.</p>
<p>as we begin the college tour for the class of 2009…</p>
<p>thanks for the laugh!</p>
<p>Had to add something to this older thread in that we’ve just returned from looking at two colleges. There was a mother on the tour at one who was driving us all crazy!! Her husband and very sweet daughter were so long suffering, we couldn’t believe it! Here we are at a small college out in the country, and she’s asking, " What’s the crime rate like here?" and “How do the students get to class?” She wanted to know where exactly one would put their TV in the dorm room, how many toilets were in the hall bathroom (she ran back and counted), and who did the laundry!! When the guide told her that the students did it themselves, she wanted to know if you paid with coins or a swipe card and when told “coins” wanted to know exactly how many!! People were looking at her like she was nuts!!</p>