I love the other thread about bad campus tours…but could we have some discussion about a tour guide/professor/etc that really went above and beyond on a visit?
We had a bunch of good tour guides, but the one that stands out to me was at Smith. During our tour there was a large and in-your-face protest going on, and at one point they came up to the tour and started yelling at us. The guide handled it all so calmly, didn’t get rattled at all, and led us in a different direction. Extremely professional and impressive. I remember thinking “if this is the kind of student Smith produces, I’m sold.” (Daughter preferred the more chill Mount Holyoke, but that’s another thread).
A lot of the protestors were Smith students, yes. But I’ve seen a lot of protests on college campuses, and it seemed pretty run-of-the-mill, whereas the tour guide stood out.
We had an especially good tour guide at UVa. She had transferred there from another school, which gave her a helpful perspective. She openly addressed the horrifying events a few months earlier – outsid neonazis marching through the grounds with tiki torches. She said the students had subsequently gathered on the Lawn and “reclaimed” their ground.
We wrote a highly complimentary review card about her at the admissions office.
Our George Washington U Tour guide was amazing. He was so together and prepared to answer questions. He even brought up that his mom was very worried about safety issues with the urban campus and explained all the safety features that made his mom feel that he would be safe.I was totally shocked to find out he was a second-semester Freshman and it was his first tour! Our Info session was a train wreck - it was student led by a senior who said no less than 5 times that she had no job and was worried - the kicker she was the same major my DS was pursuing. I had wanted to leave after the session, but he definitely redeemed the school to me and it stayed on the list.
We also had great tour guides at American and Trinity U, but GWU tour guide really stood out against such a terrible first impression.
Best tour guide our family had out of around 30 was a young man from St. Olaf on a one-on-one tour - so personal, articulate, sincere, and super smart and accomplished. It really left an impression on my kid and moved the school up the list.
Actually, the entire St. Olaf admissions office was impressive - the admissions officer (also one of the best), the frozen fruit bars and all kinds of refreshments, the warm welcome. All colleges should be so welcoming.
Neither DS or I knew what to expect and the tour knocked our socks off. The content of the info session was by far the most interesting of any of the schools we toured. Very refreshing that for once it wasn’t mostly info one could find on their website and had very specific examples of ways the college engaged students while there (instead of just blanket statements about number of clubs, etc).
After the info session, our tour guide and all the students we met on campus were the most incredible mix of sweet, fun and whip smart without being at all snooty. The whole place felt like a fun summer camp for geniuses. Made me want to go back to school myself.
Our tour guide was from Texas, a tall woman who wore a long dress and nigh heels and walked faster backwards than I was comfortable walking forwards. She was folksy and familiar without being too chummy, obviously glowing with happiness to be at the school, smart, funny, just all around cool.
SUNY Plattsburgh was our best tour. Her name was Morgan and she definitely loved the school. She knew just about everything and was so happy and bubbly. She told of small things that students would want to know, but may seem too trivial to ask or hadn’t even thought of yet. My daughter was sold and will be attending in the fall. We did do three other tours there, but none matched our first. She hopes to become a tour guide herself.
When we toured the University of Southern California we had an information session then four tour guides introduced themselves. I thought it was great that you could pick which person to follow depending on your interests (music, science…). We followed the science major and she was probably the most poised and best-dressed tour guide we have had on any of our tours. She answered all our questions, and even sent my son a handwritten note afterward, which was a nice touch.
We were also impressed by our tour of SMU in Texas. Our tour guide could not access a dorm for our group to see on the tour. So, after lunch (provided for free by SMU, so we could sample the dining hall) she rounded all of us up and took us back to the dorm. Most tour guides would probably have just skipped the dorms and clocked out, so we really appreciated her efforts.
Our first tour guide at Grinnell (we probably did 4 visits between 2 kids), was a football player who did summer research – we toured in the summer. Maybe it was a summer thing, but it was a one-on-one tour, just us and him. It could have been very awkward, but he was delightful – open, warm, likeable, and did much to dispel my son’s concerns that it was too nerdy. We all left loving Grinnell.
Our first Denison tour guide (also several visits and tours there) was also a breath of fresh air, funny, sweet, engaging. I remember she was an athlete but chose to stop participating after sophomore year as her interests evolved. She was relaxed talking about the other Ohio schools, highlighting what made Denison distinctive, without putting any of the others down. From that visit on, Denison kept rising up the list.
Belmont - Genuinely friendly and so very proud of her school and the way it helped here grow into the capable woman young capable had become. She truly wanted the kids to go there too
Best was our flagship, I was ready to sign D1 up even though we knew they didn’t have her major. He was a senior and so enthusiastic; from him, you’d ever have suspected it’s a big party school. (Work a little/party hard.) And it was pouring rain. I hope he went on to great succcess in life.
Clark (MA) for an admissions office run by students (at least, when we visited,) super open, ready to chat. As we toured, so many students we ran into welcomed us.
Bates knocked our socks off with the amount they gave us access to, as if nothing to hide.
Yale.
Our tour there was one of the standout experiences of the entire college visit week. The info session was led by a smart, articulate, senior international student. He was completely at ease in front of a packed room filled with over-anxious parents with too many questions. His answers were to the point and he had statistics handy for all those pesky questions about numbers.
The accent was just icing on the cake;)
The tour was after the info session and as we were among the last few to be organized into a group(those long bathroom lines), I didn’t have great expectations. The tour guide, a sophomore from Alaska, was stellar.
Though the tour started late, he didn’t rush through it and very patiently answered every question. He also made it a point to talk to each of the students in the group and shared his knowledge about their individual prospective majors.
School moved from the bottom of the list to top 5 for our kid after our visit.
@lookingforward your worst school was one of our best The guide was so nice and down to earth, extremely knowledgeable and informative, and just made the tour delightful.
Another exceptional tour guide was at Susquehanna. She was very naturally enthusiastic, clearly loved being at the school and spoke about the wonderful professors and her close relationship with them. It was a one on one and her major was the same as my d’s so she customized the tour to that.
The other great one was at WPI. We didn’t get to choose our tour guide, but after they had introduced themselves, my d was hoping to be matched up with this one girl. Unfortunately we weren’t, but since she had the same major, we found her afterwards. She invited us to sit with her and some friends in a grassy area and they all shared their stories and answered all our questions about the school. They were all so nice!
Our tour guide was incredibly confident, articulate and witty (humor really helps with me!) She gave us a good feel for the average student experience at Tulane. Lots of details about the day-to-day workings, not just the “braggy” special programs. She engaged with the applicants on the tour and encouraged them to talk and ask questions - no small feat! - so it was really tailored to the kids’ interests and more geared toward them. I just felt like we came away with a lot of useful information about Tulane.
Some tours felt like more of a “facilities” tour - here is the library etc. - and left me feeling like I could have had the same experience from the comfort of my home, on Google Earth.
The guide was so nice and down to earth, extremely knowledgeable and informative, and just made the tour delightful.