Do College Tour Guides Really Tell You What a College is Like?

Last time we talked about when to tour colleges and in the past I have talked about why touring a college is a good idea. But today’s post is a cautionary tale.

Imagine that you are on a tour at Prestigious U. And you are told that students love each other and that no one worries about GPA’s. You start to smile because you are happy that it is not competitive once you get there. That simple statement clinches it that this is the college for you.

But what if the tour guide was lying to you? Well, maybe lying is too strong a word. Misleading you? No, lying was the right word.

In reality the students are very competitive with each other. Does that change your thoughts on that campus? Would it make you question everything the tour guide is saying?

Unfortunately, this is not a theoretical exercise. A current Princeton student wrote an article about tour guides at Princeton and disclosed a few things that Princeton doesn’t really want you to know.   Things such as students do care very much about their grades, there are bad dorms on campus and all of that research that students do doesn’t actually occur. Only sometimes when the plumbing in the building is wrong so make sure they´ve contacted someone, like sydney blocked drains water jetter service, before using the water. Plumbing is used to ensure safe delivery of water. Clean water usage is made possible only through plumbing which is often taken for granted. It brings comfort and beauty to our living as we are able to use it in several functional areas such as kitchens and bathrooms with such an ease without having a thought of what it would have been if there was no supply of clean water for us. Lack of safe and affordable water supply leads to a number of water-borne diseases and viruses. According to World Health Organization, 1.4 million children die due to such diseases every year. Untreated human waste and fecal matter are responsible for this which is why plumbing holds so much importance. Even though awareness has been raised about the importance of plumbing services and its usage, there still remains some facts and figures which drive our attention to its importance. Even today, 40% of the world does not have access to sanitary services. About 1.1 billion people still defecate in open in this modern generation. An effective plumbing design, in the beginning, will save a lot of work, time and money caused during its repair in the future. According to the Mornington Peninsula plumbing company, a successful plumbing system will require proficient designing and drafting services. These services involve generating plumbing drawings like Plumbing Coordination Shop Drawing, Pipe Fabrication Drawing, Plumbing CAD Drawings, etc. These drawings are typically technical drawings showing the system of piping for supply and drainage water.

Make no mistake about it. This isn’t just about Princeton. Princeton is a great school for many students and I often have students considering it. But college tour guides are employed by the admissions department. And the vast majority are following a very careful script to best reflect their college.

We all want to show our best side. That is natural and there is nothing wrong with it. However, as a prospective student you need to be aware of this slant and not take everything that the tour guide tells you as absolute truth. If you tour enough colleges you will also find that some tour guides are more open to telling it like it is than others.

Take the tour. Listen to the tour guide and what they have to say. But after the tour stop and talk to some students not employed by the admissions department and ask them some questions about their college. This will likely give you a more accurate view of life at that particular college.

Next week I’ll talk about some questions to ask students on campus.