Visiting Colleges

I vividly remember my first college trip. It was Columbus Day weekend of my freshman year of high school and my very enthusiastic father declared we were heading upstate to see schools. We quickly found that going on that particular weekend meant we weren't going to see many students, they were mostly home for the weekend, but that we could still get a good look at the various campuses. We also got a good idea of how far apart everything is in Oneida County, New York.

We did a few things right and a few things wrong with this trip. First off, going on that particular weekend wasn't the greatest idea because a lot of the taste you get from a campus is that which you get from the students. Seeing campuses without their community is almost like watching a movie without the sound you're likely to miss the gist. Another thing that we should've done but didn't was try to get in touch with any friends or former classmates with whom I'd gone to high school before we got to the campuses. Later on in my college search we did this and it definitely added a layer to my impressions of schools through some local knowledge and opinion.

In any case, we did do some things right. One thing we did that was a good idea was we visited a range of schools in that first go. First, we visited a large, private, Ivy League university with graduate as well as undergraduate students. This was nicely juxtaposed against two small, private, liberal arts colleges, and finally one huge, public state school. Another thing we did right was set aside each day for two schools so that there would be plenty of time to explore the campuses. If we'd done this during a time when students were around, we would've been able to take studentled tours as well as take a peek into any buildings in which we had interest.

The college search can be exciting but it can also be overwhelming. When you begin, look at a range of schools, set aside plenty of time to see each campus and talk with students, try to get in touch with people you may know there and be sure to visit when school is in session.