Where to go to college is a big decision, and it’s not one to make blindly. College campus tours are an opportunity for students to get their feet on the ground at different schools and get a real sense of whether they can feel at home.
Campus tours also are a good way to speak with people who can share more insights than you’ll find online. Through guided campus tours, appointments with the admissions office, and other opportunities, prospective students can talk with current students, professors, and administrators who can shed light on important details of campus life and the admissions process.
First Impressions
“The tour gives you an opportunity to see yourself as a student at that school and ask yourself if it’s a place that you feel comfortable and a place that you can see yourself in. It gives you a way to connect with the campus, other than brochures, college fairs, visits to your high school, or other online resources,” says Kayla Nichols, interim associate vice provost for enrollment management and director of undergraduate admissions at Virginia Tech. “And it allows you to figure out if you want to apply there or if you don’t connect with the campus as much as you expected.”
Spring of junior year is a good time to start visiting, she says, because it allows some time to decide where to apply. If you visit earlier than that, the memory of the school might not be as fresh.
That’s not the only time a tour can be useful. A campus visit after being accepted can help a student make the final decision to commit to a school.
“When I was considering schools, I was considering a fair amount of them. And all of them were on the table. And when I actually got acceptances, that made it feel a lot more real to me,” says Henry Millar, a head tour guide at William & Mary in Williamsburg who graduated this year. “And I frankly took [tours] a bit more seriously when I knew that it was actually a contender.”
Some schools offer larger tours throughout the year, including open houses and admitted students’ days. Those events may mean that there are more resources available to learn about the school, such as opportunities to interview academic faculty or attend additional information sessions.
It also helps to plan the tour at a time when the semester is in session, suggests Millar. “You could just see students actually using the campus, what an average occupancy looks like in the dining hall, in the library, that kind of thing,” he says. “And you really just wouldn’t get that in, let’s say, winter break.”
What to Expect
The tours typically begin with an information session that focuses on academic and campus life before a walk around the campus. That way, future students learn about the academic requirements, how on-campus living works, financial aid, and other concrete factors.
“The facilities that you’ll see depend on the institution, but typically, you will have the opportunity to see a dining hall, a library, a gym, an academic classroom, and the student center,” Nichols says, plus some institutional landmarks.
Prospective students might be itching to see a residence hall, but depending on the school, it’s not always something that’s included in every tour. At Virginia Tech, for example, tours only include the inside of a residence hall during larger admissions events like open houses.
Don’t feel limited to just the information offered on the general guided tour. In most cases with public institutions, anyone is free to enter the buildings to look around. “I always encourage guests to go and explore,” Millar says. “Let’s say they’re really interested in physics or the business program, [they can] just go in that building after the tour, and I can answer any questions about those programs while we’re on the tour.”
If a guided tour won’t work due to time constraints, many institutions offer resources for self-guided tours. Start with the admissions office — the staff will be able to tell you where to go and what to see, and the office will likely have brochures and maps that will help guide the experience. You can also check in there to show your interest in the school even if you’re not registered for an official tour.
Be Curious
One of the main benefits of a formal tour is the chance to interact with students and other people from the college or university who can share insights into academic and student life. Take advantage of the chance to ask questions of the student who leads the tour, admissions officials, and any professors who speak to the group.
This is where a little preparation comes in handy. Before the tour, think about the most important factors to you and create a list of thoughtful questions. Information about acceptance rates and tuition will likely be answered online or in the information session. Instead, ask open-ended and inquisitive questions, ones where you can’t find the answers elsewhere.
Those questions can have to do with your guide’s experience with the campus, an admissions counselor’s advice for how to stand out on an application, or how study abroad or internship programs work.
The only questions you should avoid, according to Millar and Nichols, are those that are overly personal for your tour guide, such as their admission stats or financial aid details. “Those answers obviously vary greatly from person to person and don’t impact your own visit or application process,” Nichols says.
“Other than those types of questions, I encourage anyone to truly be candid and open and ask as many questions as you can think of, because I know from my experience as a tour guide, and many of my friends who are our tour guides, that we love getting questions,” Millar says.
Parents or guardians accompanying a student are welcome to ask questions and engage with the tour, but it’s important to remember not to let their opinions dominate. “Really allow the students to take the lead as much as possible, because it’s the student who will be attending the institution,” Nichols says.
Beyond the Tour
Even after the tour, take some time to get to know the campus and its surrounding area. It’s a good time to schedule any meetings you might need, including with the financial aid office. Depending on the school, there may even be more in-depth programs for prospective students, like opportunities to shadow a current student or observe a class.
While on campus, students can check out other things that will give them a feel for student life, such as the campus newspaper and radio station, community bulletin boards, and the dining options both on and off campus.
“Really remember that this is your process to navigate. It’s your process to figure out if this school is for you or not for you,” Nichols says. “I would just focus on creating that college list, creating the list of questions that you want to ask, and enjoy the process as much as possible.”
Question Your Tour Guide
Ask your tour guide questions like this:
- What is your favorite thing about your college?
- What is a typical weekend like at this school?
- What extracurricular activities are available?
Not this:
- What was your SAT score?
- How did you get into this school?
- How much financial aid do you receive?
Feature image by Derek Malone/stock.adobe.com
This story originally ran in our June issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
