Tips for a successful college visit or summer preparation?

bopper
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 14:34:06 +0000

The first thing you need to do is google “ Common Data Set” and
then look in Section C7: Relative importance of each of the following academic and nonacademic factors in first-time, firstyear,degree-seeking (freshman) admission decisions.

Then look at " Level of applicant’s interest" and “Interview”

Is it Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered?

For Large publics, Interest may be Not Considered because there are too many students to keep track of.
e.g. https://budget.psu.edu/CDSRedesign/cds.aspx?reportindicator=FreshAdmn&Location=UP&AY=20162017

For some tippy top schools, Interest may be Not Considered because of course you want to go there (or they want many applicants but few admits so they there are too many students to keep track of)
https://oir.yale.edu/sites/default/files/cds_2017-2018_0.pdf

So that leaves your other private schools.

Here are some ways to show interest:

+Sign up for information on the college website

+Attend a college fair and talk to the admissions counselor/alumni. They will have a method for you to share your information

+Attend a High School visit if the college visits your HS

+Attend a regional information session if they are offered

+Take a tour/Go to open house if possible.and have an interview if offered

+Sign up for an alumni interview if you can’t make it to campus if offered

+Contact the admissions counselor in your area if you have specific questions

+Read emails the college sends you (yes they can tell)

+Asking questions not answered on website or in this forum

For Interviews, see if they are offered and how important they are.
For some colleges, you may need to show interest but not do a tour until you are admitted if it is far away.
For others, you really need to do an interview. I would suggest googling college interview questions that you may be asked and come up with some of your own, like “I read the website, but what do you think makes really different than the others?” or “How would you describe a typical student?” or “What made you choose this college” etc.
Interview when you tour if possible…you don’t want to have to go back…but this takes planning of course. I would definitely do as much as you can this summer because you will be busy with school in the fall.

You can meet your admissions counselor (if available) and say that you wanted to meet them so they could put a face to a name and you look forward to interacting with them throughout the process.