Q&A with BT: How Students Can Make The Most of College Visits

A: I generally tell students that spring of sophomore year is the sweet spot for college visits—freshman year tends to be too early in your high school career to have a clear sense of your goals, interests, and what you’re looking for in a college. Likewise, by junior year, you will want to use your firsthand knowledge of college campuses to compile your balanced college list. Visiting during sophomore year means that you have a more defined understanding of your academic path, your field of interest, and your professional goals, while still allowing enough time for you to develop your college list and set new goals based on the information you glean from visiting campuses. That being said, it can also be beneficial to visit during junior year, after you have taken standardized tests and determined which schools on your list are reaches, matches, and safeties.

When it comes to time of year, the season or day of the week doesn’t matter so long as classes are in session—some of the most valuable information you will get from your college visits will likely come from current students, and attending a class can give you a glimpse into academic life at an institution. It is therefore beneficial to visit when campus is active—on a weekday during the academic term—to get the most authentic portrait of college life at the school.

A: You will likely not have the time or capacity to visit every school on your college list. However, you should aim to visit a mix of institutions to get a feel for different campus sizes, locations, and styles. While you might not have the chance to visit Emory and Duke, visiting one or the other would provide a sense of a semi-urban campus in a Southern city.

I also recommend that students start by visiting match schools before touring one of their reaches—often, when students start by visiting their dream school, they evaluate other schools on their list more harshly or check out of the visit altogether because they have their heart set on a reach institution. Starting with schools that align with their test scores and academic skill set will allow students to set reasonable expectations, identify what they like without getting too attached to a highly competitive school, and critically evaluate the range of options available to them.

A: The more active rather than passive you can be during your college visits, the better! Rather than just going through the motions of the visit, set time aside to talk to your regional admissions officer, schedule a meeting with a professor you hope to connect with, chat with a student admissions volunteer, sit in on a class, and attend an info session if the admissions office offers one. While visiting a college won’t necessarily boost your odds of admission, you should seek to make an impression and follow up with an email to those with whom you connected while on campus.

You should also try to get a feel for the area by walking around town, stopping into local shops and restaurants, and learning more about the broader community by talking to locals. Students should keep in mind that they are not just selecting a school—they are also choosing a place to call home for the next four years of their lives. The recommendations included on this page—as well as others you may solicit from friends or family members who are familiar with the areas you plan to visit—can be a good starting place for getting to know the wider community in a college town.

A: While campus tours and admissions info sessions highlight institutional means of fostering community and creating campus culture, most of your social life as a student will be the result of organic, student-initiated social events. It is therefore important to ask your student tour guide and other current students about how they spend their free time when they aren’t attending official, school-sponsored opportunities. Pose questions such as: How do students typically make friends during their first year? How central is Greek life to the school’s culture? What social spaces foster a sense of community? How would you describe students on campus? Where do students typically hang out? Additionally, observe the community on campus. Are students collaborating in study groups, lounging on the quad, or heading to extracurricular activities? What impression do you get of the social life on campus as you tour?

A: Aside from the standard questions students should ask about student life, academics, and career preparation, there are a few important topics I encourage students to address on campus visits. First, students should ask about major selection at the college. This process can vary widely from school to school—some schools require students to declare during their first year, some wait until the second year. For instance, students at Brown have until their fourth semester to declare their concentration, while students at Yale are encouraged to do so during their second semester of enrollment. Students should ask questions such as: How does major selection work? Do students declare their major in their first or second year? What resources are available to help students choose their courses? How common is it for a student to be undeclared?

It is also important to inquire about the grading system on campus, as it’s not something that admissions offices typically detail. Consider asking questions like: Does the school offer pass/fail grading options? How are GPAs calculated? These specifics can significantly impact your academic experience and your strategy for approaching coursework.

A: As you tour campus, you should keep a notebook handy and jot down your impressions of the campus culture, the students’ energy, and the vibe of the surrounding area. The best things to note are those that you can’t find on the school’s website—quirks you notice, student traditions you hear about, conversations you have in the dining halls, or general observations about the culture. For instance, you may note that Princeton emphasizes civil service, while Dartmouth is all about sustainability, or you may get excited about Cornell’s hospitality program or the Brown Supper Club. These insights and details will not only help you remember each school, but you can also incorporate them into your supplemental essays to show your depth of understanding of the school’s unique culture. This is particularly important when it comes to student clubs and organizations—while the website may provide a list of all clubs on campus, it won’t tell you which are currently active or particularly vibrant on campus. Thoughtful observations based on your firsthand experience on campus will go a long way when you’re writing your supplemental essays.

A: A less-than-stellar visit isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it’s an opportunity to refine your preferences! Rather than simply crossing the school off your list, reflect on the specific reasons you didn’t like the school. Avoid dismissing a school for superficial reasons, such as its size, architecture, or weather, unless those factors are truly deal-breakers for you, and instead consider factors beyond “it’s in the middle of nowhere.” Ask yourself: Did students seem unmotivated? Professors unhelpful? Did the academic culture seem too stuffy and traditional for your learning style? Understanding why a school isn’t the right fit can help you make more informed choices for your remaining visits and overall college list.

A: Because our mentorship is holistic, we are able to help students step-by-step through the college visit process, from planning to navigating through campus to reflecting on their visit afterwards. In the lead-up to college visits, we help students set clear and measurable goals so that they don’t get lost in the activity on campus. This could include things like specific questions to ask about their intended program, professors or admissions representatives to connect with, sights to see, and admissions events to attend. We check in with students periodically while they are on campus to see how the visits are going and help them address any challenges or considerations that have arisen in real time. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we help students critically reflect on their visit after they have returned home. We help them articulate what they liked (or didn’t like) about the school, what these factors may indicate about what they are looking for in their college experience, follow up professionally with important contacts they established on campus, and collect specific details about the school that will add depth and insight to their application.