What I learned from visiting 10 Colleges in 10 Days
I spent the last two weeks of March on a whirlwind tour of 10 private colleges in Virginia and learned A LOT!
And, it wasn’t just the nitty-gritty details of each of the schools (though it was that too)...
I learned how to make the most of my time on each campus and, for those of you trying to squeeze college visits in, I wanted to share it all so YOU can make the most of YOUR time on these visits!
Want to skip straight to my in-depth notes? I detailed each visit with information on admissions, top programs, campus life, and more here.
Now, onto my campus visit takeaways-
Take lots of notes and pictures! No matter how good of a memory you or your teenager have, over time the details will start to blur. Especially if you visit more than one college. Campus visits are packed with information so do your best to jot down what is most important to you. I like to have a notes tab open on my phone so that I can take notes as we walk the campus.
Consider splitting up! Many organized college tours will include a general large-group admissions session and then split into smaller groups for campus tours. One option is for you (the parent) to go with a different tour guide than your teenager. This is an especially good option if you want to ask a lot of questions because, when you are with your teenager, you really want to let them take the lead. You want them focused on the tour and not focused on the annoying questions mom or dad are asking (and, yes, I am definitely the annoying mom in my house 😉). An added bonus to splitting up is that you will get different perspectives from each of the tour guides.
Do your research ahead of time. Take a quick look at general information about the college from a resource like the College Scorecard and then head to the college’s visitor website to see if they have a virtual tour available. Preparing with a little research will help you and your teenager know what questions to ask and will help you remember the college better after your visit has concluded.
Put together a list of questions you want answered before arrival. Sit down with your teenager and figure out what you want to learn while there. One question I always ask is about opportunities for merit aid. As you’ll see from my notes, there are many private colleges that provide automatic merit-based scholarships to all accepted students!
Recap and reflect! College visits can be exhausting, especially if you are visiting more than one school each day. At the end of a long day of college exploration, your teenager may not be up for rehashing the visit. However, be sure to make time within a week of returning home to go back through notes and pictures and talk about the pros and cons of each college visit. This reflection piece is super important to help them figure out what type of college experience is best for them. Remember, each college visit is not just a judgment on whether or not that specific college is THE COLLEGE. Visits also help teenagers clarify what characteristics of a college they will want to look for when adding other schools to their list.
Are you heading out for a campus visit soon? Be sure to grab my free Complete Guide to College Visits where I go in-depth on how to prepare for a college visit, what to see, what to ask, and a template to help your teenager take notes and reflect on their experience.