Key Takeaways
- A tour is a script. A visit is what you add to it.
- Go in with two or three real questions and talk to people the tour doesn’t introduce you to.
- Write down what you noticed the same day, using the same questions for every school.
A family drives three hours for a campus tour.
The guide walks backward across the quad. They see a dorm room, the library, and the dining hall. Someone mentions that the school has a famous fountain.
On the drive home, the parent asks, “So, what did you think?”
I liked it. I think? I can’t really tell.
That answer is common, and it has a cause. The tour was built to show the best parts of the school. It was not built to help a student decide.
What a tour is, and isn’t
A tour is a useful start. You see the layout, the buildings, and what the school wants you to notice.
But a tour is a script. Every family on it hears the same stops and the same stories.
The visit is everything you add. And schools that run visits say the same thing: the families who get the most out of them come with questions and talk to more people than the guide.
Before you go
Do a little research first. Cornell College suggests learning what you can from the website and writing down questions it doesn’t answer. Then you won’t spend your visit asking what is already online.
Pick two or three questions that matter to you. Not twenty. For example:
- What do students in my major do after graduation?
- How easy is it to get the classes I want?
- What do students do on a normal weekend?
Ask if the visit can be customized. Several admissions offices say you can often arrange a meeting with a faculty member, a coach, or financial aid staff in addition to the tour. Ask ahead of time.
Don’t worry if you don’t know your major. Luther College’s admissions team says it is fine to say so.
While you’re there
The tour guide is trained to say good things. Almost everyone else on campus is a better source.
Talk to people who aren’t the tour guide. A current student in the dining hall line will tell you what the guide won’t: what weekends are like, how the food holds up, and what the place feels like in February.
What do you wish you’d known before you got here?
That one question tends to get a more honest answer than anything on the tour.
Ask about the hard parts. Luther’s admissions team suggests asking about the challenges of living there and where students go for academic help, like tutoring or professors. A school that answers that honestly is easier to trust than one that doesn’t.
Meet your admissions counselor. Augustana and Marymount both point out that it helps to know who you can follow up with later. Ask for contact information.
Look past the quad. Meredith College’s admissions team suggests asking counselors for local restaurants and places to visit, and Siena adds that you can pick up a local newspaper or check what is within walking distance. You will live in the town, not just the campus.
Sit in on a class, if the school offers it. A classroom tells you more about how students learn than a building does.
Talk to people who aren’t the tour guide. Current students will answer what you actually want to know about weekends, food, and what the school is like in February. Siena’s admissions blog says to ask anything you want.
Ask about the hard parts. Luther suggests asking about the challenges of living there and where students go for academic help, like tutoring or professors. A school that answers that honestly is easier to trust than one that doesn’t.
Meet your admissions counselor. Augustana and Marymount both point out that it helps to know who you can follow up with later. Ask for contact information.
Look beyond the campus. Meredith College’s admissions team suggests asking counselors for local restaurants and places to visit. Siena adds that you can pick up a local newspaper or check what is within walking distance. You will live in the town, not just the campus.
Sit in or ask about a class, if the school offers it. A classroom tells you more about how students learn than a building does.
After the visit
This is the step most students skip.
Write down what you noticed the same day, while it is fresh. Use the same few questions for every school, so you can compare them later.
For example:
- What surprised me?
- Could I picture myself here on a normal Tuesday?
- What question is still open?
- How did the students I met seem?
If you have trouble remembering which school had which dining hall, that is exactly why it helps.
Then follow up. A short thank-you email to the admissions counselor you met keeps the connection open. It also helps with schools that track how students engage, as we explained in our post on demonstrated interest. Not every school does, so check.
If you can’t travel
Many colleges offer virtual events, online sessions, and ways to talk to current students. Ask your admissions counselor what the school offers.
The same plan works. Bring two or three questions, talk to a real person, and write down what you noticed.
When to go
Randolph-Macon’s admissions team says most students get serious about visiting in the spring of junior year or the summer before senior year. Visiting earlier can help narrow the list before applications open.
If you visit a school after you are admitted, the goal changes. We covered that in our post on choosing between acceptances.
What this comes down to
A campus visit is not a test, and it is not a sales pitch you sit through.
It is the one chance to collect information a brochure cannot give you: how the students talk, what the town is like, and whether you can picture yourself there.
The tour shows you what the school wants you to see. The questions you bring show you the rest.
