Frequently visiting colleges can reduce the risk of new obstacles when you’re finally ready to attend. It also increases your awareness about the type of college you want to attend and its prospects for your academic growth. More importantly, you get to build your rapport with current college students and teachers. However, many young people only enjoy the sightseeing rather than engaging with all the good the college offers. If you want to make the most of a college visit, here are four vital tips.
1. Do your research
Most universities in the United States offer different educational opportunities. Some higher education institutions are well versed in a particular field of study; therefore, it helps to perform background research about the school visiting before you set off.
You can pull information online abo its financial aid programs, interaction with college scholarship organizations, admission eligibility, etc. Such insights keep you informed and help you better understand information from facilitators and you can get specific information from university websites and social media platforms. Many universities in today’s age have adopted a very fruitful information-sharing culture that can impact your background checks.
2. Compare your options
The “variety is the spice of life” saying can apply to many college visits. Why limit yourself to a specific university when there’s a sea of options to meddle in and make the college decision to advance your career opportunities? Luckily, you can have a cluster of colleges around one local community and the first step to enjoying such variety is critical levels of planning, from accommodation to transportation.
For instance, you can find several public and private colleges nestled in the heart of Austin alone. That way, you can lodge one in a hotel that gives you all-around access to multiple Austin Universities. Finding a hotel can be as easy as typing downtown Austin hotels into any online search where you can get several results in no time. Using customer reviews and ratings, you can narrow down the best hotel to host your tour of various colleges. Doing so enriches your knowledge about multiple universities at a goal, and you may not have spent time visiting a college per visit.
3. Engage in activities
Visiting colleges is one thing, and engaging in activities to feel a college’s way of life is another. Some colleges, especially long-existing ivy league schools, have traditions that may enthuse you. Some colleges even have hidden mysteries behind their interior design and architecture. But you may not notice the beauty if you don’t engage with staff and students. Therefore, it pays to engage in a few of the college’s activities before you call it a trip—the best ways to facilitate and begin conversations. Asking questions, for instance, can be a great way to generate information about your preferred college.
This is one place where doing your research comes in handy. From your research, you may have jotted questions that require enough clarity. So, learn as much and ask the financial aid office about the college’s support services that help nurture and harness students’ potentials. It’s easy to think life as an incoming freshman is all about academics, but beyond all credit hours and other academic questions, it pays to gain significant information about the college’s social activities. Do they have any programs for students of color? Are there any clubs for minority students to table their plights? All these questions can help you round up your future college decision.
4. Always take notes
Many visiting students are likely to follow facilitators around, nodding and thinking they’re retaining the information. But they’re likely to lose all they heard moments after the tour ends, making the entire session fruitless. As a student, it pays to take notes. Summarize long speeches into bullet points that can be easy to remember. Your notes can be a good reference point when you’re finally ready to take one of the biggest steps in your academic journey.
