Visting College Campuses

Now that you have assembled a list of colleges, it is time to experience these colleges first hand. The best time to do so is the summer before senior year of high school. First, assemble a list of the colleges you plan on visiting, some may be near you, so it is simple to get to the location. Once the list is created, find colleges that are near each other, in order to lower travel expenses, if you are visiting colleges out of state, then travel costs may become a little pricey, so it is best to try and get the most out of the exploration for the most reasonable price. A great starting place before college tours are the colleges websites, it is here that you can find out if the campus has a tour time guide, or if you need to make reservations for tours and information sessions. After you find out what you need to do in order to become part of these tours, then it is time to make a date to attend these tours. Try to make dates that will let you not only experience the college but the area around it as well, this is crucial; this quite possible could be your home in the years ahead, so being comfortable with it, is very important. Now, you have gotten to the place where the college is located, it is a great idea to scan the college locations beforehand, maybe just with your parents of friends, most campuses have some sort of map, so learn your way around, remember when you go to college, you are not going to have a tour guide with you at all times, so being independent at one point is best. Great spots to hit during your tour by yourself would be the dining hall, this is going to be a usual meeting location in the future and it best to know where it is, check out the academic halls as well, and if at all possible look at a classroom, a comfortable classroom can make learning much easier, in addition to these if you are involves in sports, check out their sport areas, ranging from the football field to the swimming pool, maybe a side trip if the school has a gym or recreation complex. Then of course, visit the location that you are going to be spending most of your time at, the dorm rooms. Seeing as you will be living here, it is incredibly important that you like the dorm rooms, some dorm rooms are very small, and others very spacious, depending on your preference, or your toleration, this is a key factor in whether you will choose a college or not. Now moving on to the guided tour of the campus with the tour guide, a tour guide is knowledgeable and is attending or has attended the school that is being toured. So they know many things about the college’s curriculum, as well as the social life of a student attending the college. Ask questions, that is the best advice I can give, any information that you do not know, or do not understand fully, this is your time to get a full grasp on it. Make sure that when you leave this tour, that all your questions are answered. Ask them if you can see classrooms, or for little extras, get as many benefits out of the tour as possible, choosing a college is one of the biggest choices you will ever make in your life, it is your responsibility to make sure that you do this decision justice.