Tips for Visiting the College Campus

Because colleges have unique personalities that cannot be captured in a catalog, visiting the campus will help you assess the campus appearance and layout, surrounding community, social atmosphere, student body, academic facilities such as labs and library, housing conditions, and campus dynamics. Does it fit your style? Can you see yourself here? Does it offer what you feel you need to develop in the directions you want?

Once you have narrowed your college choices, call the admissions office and arrange for a visit. Most private colleges in Wisconsin waive the admission fee if you visit. It is important to include parents in the visit if possible because of the personal and financial investment they have in you and your future. Their understanding of and input into your decisions will help the college process go more smoothly. Some campuses have special visitation days where helpful activities are planned for perspective students and their families. So be sure to ask when these are. Visits are most often made from the spring of the junior year into early fall of the senior year. If you plan a visit during a weekday, you can ask ahead to sit in on a class, talk to a professor in your interest area, and hopefully talk to some students. You may want to try an overnight visit to help in making a difficult final choice.

In order to prepare for your visit, make a list of things you’d like to see such as dorms, athletic facilities, library, student activity center, dining facilities, computer and science labs, etc. Also make a list of questions you’d like to ask, and materials you’d like to pick up, such as a school calendar and catalog, student newspaper, campus activity guide, financial aid materials, etc. Visit the school’s website. Research and identify school characteristics that are most important to you, such as location, distance from home, surrounding community, size of campus and student body, environment (urban, rural, religious-affiliation, etc.), admission requirements (ACT scores, GPA, class rank, high school course load, foreign language, etc.), majors offered, expenses, housing and meals, facilities, and activities available. Jot down notes right after you visit. Even take pictures of the campus if you would like.

Here are some important things to find out before you decide on the college for you, including questions you may want to ask while visiting:

  1. Are students required to live on campus? What years? What percentage live on campus?
  2. What meal plans are available?
  3. Can students have cars on campus? What on and off campus transportation is available?
  4. How safe is the campus?
  5. What do students do in the surrounding community (jobs, social activities, churches, community service opportunities, internships)? What are the community connections with the campus like?
  6. How many students stay on campus on weekends? What is the social life like on and off campus? What activities are sponsored by the Student Life office and what are they like (speakers, bands etc.)? Is alcohol allowed on campus? What are campus policies and practices related to alcohol use by students?
  7. What are the dorms like? Are some dorms alcohol/substance free? Are dorms available for special interest groups, athletics, international students, group houses, private dorms, etc.? Ask to see freshman dorm rooms. Are dorms co-ed? What size are the rooms, and how many roommates share the room and bathroom? What are students allowed to bring, and what access do students have to phones, kitchen facilities (refrig and microwave), computer hook-ups, etc.?
  8. Ask your tour guide or other students you meet to describe their relationships with their professors. Do faculty members meet regularly with students, and in what capacity (advisors, groups, organizations)? Are most courses taught by full faculty members, or by graduate assistants? How accessible are faculty members to students? What are typical class sizes? If someone is struggling in a class at this school, where can they seek help?
  9. How big is the library? What computer and internet access is available. What is the average amount of homework per day? How intense is the academic environment?
  10. What are the most popular organizations on campus? Are there fraternities and sororities, what percentage of students belong, and what kinds of activities do they sponsor? How are sports regarded, and which ones are most attended by the student body? Are there intramural sports? What about the arts, music programs, marching bands, jazz bands, drama, etc. Ask about anything else in your interest areas.
  11. What do students complain most about on campus? What are the social and academic pressures like on campus?
  12. What percentage of students graduate in 4 years? 5years?
  13. Ask about your academic interests, including subjects you might major in. What are the most popular majors on campus? What are career placement rates after graduation? How do companies interview on campus? Are internships available? What types of graduate schools are attended, and what is the placement rate from your major interest area? What is the career development department like, and what services are offered to help students who are undecided in their major? How does the school help with career planning?
  14. What percentages of students receive financial aid? What are the forms required and deadlines? Ask about the work study program. Ask about the typical financial aid package (loans, grants, work study, scholarships). If you are going out of state, is reciprocity available, and how does one apply? What type of study abroad is available?
  15. Verify admissions requirements, costs, and application and housing deadlines.