What’s the Best College Tour for you?

While searching for colleges, there are all kinds of factors to weigh, and a campus tour can help you sort it all out.  But not all tours are made equally.  Which one is right for you and your child?  Virtual? Formal Scheduled Tour? Or Self-Guided?  And when should you start?

When should you start?

I recommend starting the process of figuring out which schools to tour the summer of your child’s sophomore year.  It may sound early, but it can be overwhelming to pack everything into one year, especially if they are considering out of state schools.

It’s good to start with a rough draft list of potential colleges.  If that list contains schools that are out of state, the virtual tour is a good start.  Many of the virtual tours can give you a good sense of what campus life is like and a general feel for the school.  Although you wouldn’t probably make a final decision from a virtual tour, it may help you eliminate some of the schools from the list and save you the travel expense.

What type of tour?

Once you’ve narrowed it down to a list of schools you want to visit, it’s time to determine which type of tour.  This is where you really need to use your best judgment based on your kid.  You know your kid best and have a good idea of how far along they are in the journey of picking the college.  For some kids, an informal, self-guided walk through campus is enough.  Whereas, other kids need that formal guided tour.  If it’s your first kid, the formal tour might be best.  But if your child has an older sibling that is already in college or has graduated, they may already have a general idea of what a college campus looks like.  In that case, reviewing the details of the schools offerings and an informal, self-guided tour, might fit the bill.

Furthermore, a good resource for learning about colleges is your High School Guidance Counselor.  Also, many colleges will send representatives to your area.  It’s easy to obtain a schedule of these events from the college’s website or High School Guidance Counselor.  If you take a self-guided tour or your tour guide doesn’t have an answer to one of your questions, you can always stop in to the admissions office.  They should be able to answer any question you have.

What you should expect from the tour?

Regardless of the type of tour you chose, there are some questions you should walk away having been answered:

• What are the housing and dining offerings?
• What extracurricular programs are offered?
• Which types of degrees and majors are offered?
• Get a straight up answer on which credits transfer for AP, Honors, and IB. This could mean thousands of dollars to you.

Advice Pre and Post Tour

• As your child goes on these tours observe their behavior. I can tell you from experience observing my Son’s Behavior on these tours told me everything I needed to know.  On most of the tours we went on, he hung back with us and just took it all in, but when we toured the school he ultimately ended up attending, he was engaged and was walking up with the tour guide asking pointed questions.  When we got to the admissions office, he even broke away and walked in to introduce himself and ask some questions specific to his major.