Summer is usually the most convenient time for families to visit prospective colleges with their high school children. Frequently when families are vacationing, they visit nearby colleges. Other times families travel a great distance, using vacation time to visit the colleges in which their teens have expressed the greatest interest. Such trips can certainly be productive, as long as everyone keeps a few things in mind.
1) College campuses in the summer do not reflect their character during the bustling academic year. I remember visiting Georgetown University several years ago in late June. My daughter, who was a rising high school junior, was totally turned off by the fact that everyone walking around the barely inhabited campus was wearing a business suit. (The campus was being used for a corporate seminar.) Planning on a college wardrobe of jeans, flip flops and tee shirts, she could not picture herself fitting in, and never even applied. Yet when we toured the University of Pennsylvania one cold day the following February, where students lined Locust Drive trying to recruit other students (including my daughter!) to join their clubs, my daughter found the welcoming atmosphere most inviting and U Penn immediately became her top choice college.
2) Summer visits are an ideal time to gather information. What majors are offered? What are the required courses? Is a foreign language required? Are internships readily available? How many potential employers recruit on campus? Go with a list of questions....it will be easy to get them all answered on a quiet, summer day!
3) Register in advance for a tour, and be sure to sign in when you arrive. This is vital....colleges keep track of "expressed interest" in their school and use this information during the college admission process. When a college admissions officer is deciding whether you should get a letter of acceptance or rejection, he/she looks closely at whether or not you have even visited the college as a sign of whether or not you would actually attend if admitted.
4) Re-visit your top choice colleges when school is in session. Once you know that a particular college is ideal academically, you want to be sure that it is the type of place where you would like to live for (the best!) four years of your life. Walk around campus and get a feel for the students. Eat lunch in the cafeteria....be sure you can actually survive on these selections for many, many meals. Determine if the activity level is that which you are seeking...a quiet, relaxed atmosphere or a bustling, action-packed environment.
Go with your gut feeling....when you've found the college that feels right to you, you will know it!
