by 
College visits can be exciting and scary at the same time. Carefully plan out your visits so you can get the most out of your time on campus and get the majority of your questions answered. Some students choose their college without even stepping onto the college grounds and that can present many problems. A couple years ago I was met in early August with a student frantically saying she needed a high school transcript because she was switching colleges after the first day of her present college choice. She was initially interested in a different college but chose the current college because it was closer to home and most of her friends would be attending that school.
She had visited other college campuses of interest during her junior year. It was a last-minute decision in May to attend this final choice and she didn’t visit the campus. After the first day of classes, her reason for wanting to switch was something she would have known right away had she visited the campus. She explained, “I knew it was in the big city, but I didn’t realize that I had to park so far away from the buildings and in the downtown area. I had a night class yesterday, and I was deathly afraid each step of the way to my car last night. I can’t do that another day!” If she had walked the campus prior to her decision, she would have known that before this point. Simply put — make college visits a priority.
Most high schools allow for excused absences while visiting college campuses on a regular school day. If you are looking at out-of-state schools, ask your parents if you can plan your family vacation around college visits. If that’s not possible, you need to step up your research of the college. Contact current students (you can typically find them through the campus websites or other media outlets, or find former students from your high school attending that college through social media outlets and ask them their thoughts on the school. Also, make a detailed list of things you want to include in your decision-making process. Don’t just go by the school’s reputation or how many of your friends plan to go there. This is one of the most important research projects of your life!
Besides attending one of the college visit days planned by the school when lots of high school students are roaming the campus, schedule a personal visit for you and your parents with the Admissions Office. Most schools can offer you a personal tour highlighting the areas of campus you are especially interested in. Also request an appointment with the dean of the college department of your field of interest. Create a list of areas you want to check about before that day that you can rank the school on and then compare it to the other colleges/universities you’re interested in.
Rank the schools on the following areas:
• The name/reputation of the school – for example an Ivy League school will have more weight in your decision than a community college.
• City, State – if you are looking at a rural school versus an urban school, which would you prefer?
• Enrollment – would you prefer to have a closer working relationship with your professors or do you just want to go to class and leave without much interaction?
• Miles from home – Do you want to live close to home or further away?
• Weather – weather in Florida is quite different than Wisconsin.
• The college’s rating in your degree area
• Student-faculty ratio
• Will you be taught by grad students or professors?
• Tuition and fees
• Housing facilities – are they new and updated or in need of renovation?
• Do you have to live in a dorm the first year? Is that OK with you?
• Feel of the campus – does it have an academic feel, friendly or impersonal, what conveniences are offered, the overall impression.
• Compare the library, technology on campus, student center, arts opportunities, recreation facilities, student organizations, financial aid support
• Travel around campus between classes – do you need to use your car can you get from one class to another by foot or by bicycle because of the distance between buildings?
• Other – anything else specifically of interest to you.
Once you take all these things into consideration, you will be able to see which school would be best suited for you. If you go through this much of a process, you should not face the situation the girl did in having to switch after the first day of school. Keep in touch with your school counselor and seek all the help you need from him or her. Good luck and happy school shopping!
