Tips for Visiting College Campuses

For most high school juniors (and some sophomores and freshmen!), Spring Break is a time to visit college campuses to learn more about what life might be like at each school. Here are some recommendations (beyond the normal pieces of advice you can easily find online) that we think will make your visits more impactful:

1.        Email Admissions Offices Ahead of Visits: Any good admissions office will love speaking to prospective students. Once you have dates for a planned visit, email the admissions office (just use the generic admissions email you can find on all college websites) and let them know that you would love to swing by and introduce yourself. Not only will this demonstrate proactive interest (good for college apps!), but many admissions office will give you free stuff – sometimes including coupon codes to waive application fees.

2.        Think About Where You Do Your Best Work: Can You Imagine Yourself Recreating that Environment at Each Campus? For me, my best work is done in coffee shops, so I’d be looking for campuses with those types of environments. Maybe you like quiet rooms or secluded library nooks – find them on campus visits!

3.        Explore the Connective Tissue Between Campus and the Surrounding Town/City: While the majority of your time in college will be spent on campus, you will likely spend a significant amount of time in the town/city within 1-2 miles of campus. What does that setting look like? Does it feel safe? Are there restaurants, coffee shops, stores, hotels, etc. that seem inviting?

4.        Talk to Students on Campus: Let’s be honest – admissions officers and official student tour guides generally do a great job representing their colleges. But if you want a truly unbiased opinion, you need to talk with random students. Come to campus visits prepared with 2-3 key questions you want answered and make it a goal to speak with 10 students on each visit. It might feel awkward at first, but students generally love talking about their experiences and you will gain a ton of valuable information.

5.        Take Good Notes: You will be amazed how quickly different college campuses blend together. I experienced this personally a few years ago when I dragged my family along with me to visit 6 different colleges in southern California. It is absolutely critical you have pen and paper with you to capture key observations (good and bad) at each campus!

As always, we are here to help you navigate this process. Send us an email (foundryadmissions@gmail.com) or schedule a free consultation with us here: https://calendly.com/foundryadmissionsstrategies/30-minute-meeting

Best of luck in your college explorations!