Episode 5: Making the Most of College Visits

June marks the beginning of summer vacation, which is often the only time during the year that students and families can visit college campuses. Generally, colleges begin their summer tour schedules early in the month, so it's a good time to talk about making the most of college visits. It may be important to planning your schedule to note that most colleges do not offer Saturday tours in the summer, but will pick those up again during the academic year.

In this episode, for both parents and students, we talk about the differences between initial criteria-building visits (perhaps those done earlier in high school) and those visits that you may do in the summer or fall of senior year as you make your final list decisions. We discuss the importance of being exposed to a number of different voices through not only tours, but information sessions, visits to the dining hall or academic departments, and casual conversations with students on campus.

Learn about some of our favorite pro tips to take a better measure of the campus environment and make the most of your time on campus and in the surrounding area. We’ll share some of our favorite questions for students to help you understand the academic rigor and experience, as well as our thoughts on campus dining, residential life and off-campus living. Lastly, we encourage families to build in some fun and suggest ways to reflect on your visits.

Spend some time with us before you head out on your next college tour!

Time Stamps:

01:02 What Are We Learning This Week? Whitney talks about architecture degree programs.

02:08 Big Picture: Why are campus visits so important? 

07:00 “Stump the IEC (Independent Educational Consultant)” Campuses with unique architecture.

10:26 Tips & Strategies: our pro tips for touring colleges, including great questions to ask and important observations to make on campus, as well as in the surrounding areas. 

More Than A Transcript © is a production of Whitney Bruce College Consulting and College Options, LLC. It is supported by Susan Lanigan and Katie Bruce, with artwork by Heidi Rehbock and original music by Will Morrow.

Visit our website at www.morethanatranscript.com for resources or to ask questions.

Thanks for listening!