College visits can be intimidating and overwhelming. However, if you come prepared, these visits can be a decisive factor in making college decisions. Here are some tips for taking advantage of your trip:
1. Show interest and learn about a school by ASKING QUESTIONS. Find out about internships, research opportunities, and graduate career paths. Prepare these questions ahead of time so that you can cover anything that you consider crucial in a school.
2. Check out the “vibe” of the school by hanging out in the cafeteria or skimming a school paper. Admissions officers typically offer free tickets to the cafeteria so why not take the free meal?
3. Reflect after your visit and make sure to WRITE SOMETHING DOWN. Make a list of what you liked or hated about a school- you’ll thank yourself later when the twelve schools you visited start to blur in your head.
College visits can make or break your opinion of a school, so you want to make sure that you’re finding out what’s important to you. These tips are all great ways of helping you answer the most important question: Is this a place that I could be happy at? In the end, there is no one perfect school for anyone, and the college process is really about finding a collection of schools that are all great fits.
See more tips at: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/college-visit/