Is the summer a smart time to visit colleges? After all, with faculty and students away from campus, can one get a true picture of campus life? Are you more likely to get a “picture perfect” image of the school when the only “real” people you’ll encounter are the admission office rep and the tour guide? Is it better to wait until fall to make a campus visit when there are many more sources of information available?
Go! We’d argue that you can make an informed – and thus valuable — visit at either time of the year. But you just have to conduct a “smarter” visit during the summer. In fact, there are some very important reasons why you should make summer visits. The most basic reason is that during the fall of senior year, students are incredibly busy. There are more obligations: a heavy academic load, commitments to extracurricular activities, preparation (or even studying for!) standardized tests. And some high schools restrict the amount of time students can take off for college visits. Plus there is the significant burden of the college applications themselves.
So, if possible, visit colleges during the summer.
First Impressions
The summer is a great time for first impressions. And those first impressions work both ways! Kids can start narrowing down their college list; and colleges can get a personal first impression of a prospective applicant.
Visiting a college during the summer enables a student to get a feel for a campus and its location. That “feel” – indeed that first impression – is critically important in the decision process. It may not be the most reasoned or logical way to make college choices, but we would be disingenuous if we didn’t recognize its importance. It is particularly useful for the student confused – or just unsure – about some of the seemingly most basic choices: big versus small; urban vs. rural vs suburban; East Coast vs. Middle America vs. West Coast. The summer visit can help sort out those concerns.
Recently, we made a summer visit to a well-know, highly respected college in upstate New York. The campus was gorgeous. But the rising-senior we were with was completely turned-off by the tiny rural town where the school was located. He didn’t even want to get out of the car, and the college was immediately off the list. A city kid, he just couldn’t see himself in that environment for the next four years.
But first impressions work both ways As important as the student’s first impression of the college, we also mean the impression the student makes on the college admission staff. The summer visit allows that student to demonstrate interest in a school. That is something that is truly valued today by many college admissions professionals.. And in the slower summer months, admission officers are more likely to be on campus. (Admission officers are typically on the road during the fall, traveling to high schools.) As a result, interviews are more often offered (and available) during the summer. And you’ll find a friendlier, more relaxed staff.
Here are a few rules of the summer game:
PLAN AHEAD. Check a college’s website carefully for available times of group information sessions, campus tours and anything else that is offered. Most offices are closed on the weekend, and some may close early on Friday. If interviews are offered, schedule them well in advance of your visit. (Don’t simply show up on campus and hope to get an interview!) And allow sufficient time between visits if you are trying to see two schools in a day. Showing up late for an interview — or interrupting a group session with a late entrance — certainly does not make a good first impression.
MAKE SURE THEY KNOW YOU WERE THERE. This is critical. Register in advance at the admission office; and fill out any required forms that let the admission office know you were on campus.
ASK A SMART QUESTION. You might prepare a question or two to ask during the group information session — that are of value to the whole group! Remember that many admission officers are often fresh out of college, recent graduates of the school, who love talking about their own experiences at the school. Questions that draw on that enthusiasm may cause an officer to make a note of your interest. And don’t be afraid to introduce yourself after the session. You might be surprised to learn that the presenter knows your high school. She might even be the person who will read your admission file. And, if not, if you’ve made appositive impression, they may pass on to the person who will read your file that you were there and that they enjoyed meeting you.
TOUR GUIDES. There are great tour guides and there are awful tour guides. We would hope colleges only employ good guides – and they usually do. But there is a fair chance that your tour guide will have interests that are different from yours. Often, for example, an aspiring college athlete might draw a fine-arts major as their guide — or vice versa. And instead of seeing the athletic facilities, the tour focuses on the theater. Similarly, the potential engineering major who gets the English major as a tour guide — and who has never set foot in a science lab — may not provide an accurate assessment of the program’s strengths.
A disappointing tour at a school you initially liked – or thought you would like — may warrant a return-visit in the fall. And on that subsequent trip, you’ll want to be more explicit about your visit needs.
We recently enjoyed a school visit where four tour guides presented their academic and extracurricular interests – before the individual tours took off from the admissions office. Visitors were encouraged to tour with the student who best matched their own interests. This is a terrific approach, and we hope more colleges take advantage of it. But if it is offered, don’t be shy; go with the tour guide whose interests match your own.
One caveat about tour guides: occasionally you will encounter a tour guide who turns you off – even at a campus you otherwise love. (It happened to one of our kids who was completely turned off by a tour guide he described as “over-the-top theatrical. He didn’t apply there.) So remember, although the tour guide does represent the school, they are only one person in a community of hundreds and probably thousands. And there will be folks — many just like you – whom you will connect with.
WANDER OFF. Even in the summer, you might be surprised what you can learn about a school just by branching off on your own. One of our favorite stories is that of a student visiting a well-known East Coast school. He wandered into a lab there, and had, what turned into a two-hour conversation with a faculty member. Only at the end of the conversation did he learn that he had been talking to a Nobel Prize winner in physics — who still taught the introductory class there for freshmen. Suffice it to say, that college decision was sealed that day.
Wandering is also a terrific opportunity to see a few things not included on the tour. That athlete we mentioned earlier? Simply by walking up to the undergraduate manning the check-in desk at the student recreation center, he found someone to show him around the athletic facilities.
KEEP NOTES. After visiting two schools a day for three days you’ll be surprised how much they start to blur together. We suggest jotting down a few thoughts after each visit to help you remember the differences between schools and what you liked and disliked about each place. Those notes will also come in handy when you later write your Common Application supplemental essays — which ask why you are interested in a particular school.
Making Sense of Visits
Getting students and their families to see a number of schools in the summer makes my job that much easier in the fall – and that helps them. I can get a sense of what they liked and disliked about particular schools. What locations appealed to them, and what types of campuses turned them off. That makes it much easier to add to or subtract schools from their college list.
Often, students return to high school in the fall with their minds “made up” – they “know” where they want to apply early decision. In these cases I strongly encourage to make a second, “smart” visit to the campus in the fall.
That autumn visit becomes an opportunity to experience campus life at its fullest, with opportunities to attend classes, visit with members of an academic department, test the food, meet potential team members and spend a night in the dorms. (That overnight visit is not just an excuse to party. It is also an opportunity to chat into the late hours and learn what students really think about the school.) When possible, try to stay with an alum from your high school. But if it not possible, most admission offices will assist you in arranging an overnight visit.
When students do make a second campus visit in the fall, it is important to let the admission office know. They love knowing that you have returned after you also visited in the summer
Visits and the Early Decision Commitment
Many families weigh the pros and cons of applying “early decision” to one school. (we’ll address those issues in a future newsletter.) But remember, there is no turning back from that ED application. Once you submit it – and if they accept you – you are committed to attending that school! So a fall visit is very, very important for folks seriously considering the ED approach. That second visit will either reaffirm a student’s interest, or allow them to see things they hadn’t on their summer visit.
When Summer Visits Aren’t Possible
For those students unable to utilize the summer visit, the fall visits are even more critical. You won’t have the “leisurely” pace that summer visits afford you. So be sure to make those trips “smart” visits. Do your homework; plan ahead; use a critical eye; and keep notes.
A Final Word
The college search and admission process can be stressful. Try not to let it be too anxiety-provoking. Parents and kids need to communicate candidly – and listen carefully. The vast majority of kids – in consultation with their parents – wind up making smart, successful, enjoyable choices
Safe travels.
For more help on how to make the college search and admissions process more productive and less stressful, visit us at www/icollegecounselor.net.
