How Do I Make My College Tour Worthwhile?

malthus
Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:17:37 +0000

Hi I’m an international currently staying with my relatives in New York for a few weeks. In the area, I’m set on applying to Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, Georgetown. I guess my first question, then, is are college visits worth it?

If you think so, any advice to make the trip worthwhile? How can I go beyond the mere informational tour? When I visited New York last November, I regularly took the trip to Columbia to sit in on some lectures open to the public… given that it’s summer, are there any such opportunities?

I was thinking that these would give me a better idea for questions like “Why Princeton/Harvard/Yale/etc.” But what else can I do in this visit that would help when college apps come? Is there any way I can make anyone remember my name? Send them regular love letters?

I know many go on these tours to get a better feel for whether they want to apply to the school. But I’m already certain to apply to these schools, especially Princeton. So it would really only be worthwhile if there’s any way this can give me an advantage for the college apps (writing about “Why Princeton” with the experience of actually having been there being only one example)

Look forward to your responses :D