As a high school junior, one of the things everyone is going to be asking you is where are you going to go to college. Good question but how do you figure out the answer to that?
You visit different colleges to figure out what you want from a college. Visit a big state university, a mid sized research university and a small liberal arts college. Better yet, visit a couple of each type.
For these initial visits I typically recommend that you look at colleges that are close to you. Why? Because right now you are not trying to find the ideal college. You are trying to figure out what type of college is best for you. Why spend a lot of money traveling all over to figure out that basic information?
Different colleges have different personalities and not every small liberal arts college or state university is like another. The more colleges you have a chance to visit the better will be your ability to say what you like and don’t like from a college. Want some help on some of the issues to consider? Take a look at this article on What to Consider to Find the Right College for You.
All right, you now have an idea of what you want from a college, have done your research and found some colleges that you think you may want to apply to. Now is the time to visit those colleges.
Now days you have several options when it comes to visiting colleges. The best option is to actually take a trip and visit the actual colleges in which you might have an interest. If you can afford to do that here is information on what to do during a campus visit.
But visiting colleges is expensive and time consuming. If you are short on money or time or both, virtual college visits are now an option.
Let’s take a look at Carleton College to see what your options are to explore a college remotely. Want to take a virtual tour? No problem. But you can’t really get that much feel for a campus just by looking at the buildings can you? Carleton videos to the rescue.
Many colleges have virtual tours and other videos available so that you as a student can get a feel for the campus even if you can’t physically get there. Check out the colleges in which you have an interest and I’ll bet that at least a few will have virtual tours of campus.
There are also websites like Campus Tours and eCampusTours that have links to many colleges throughout the US including links to their virtual tours.
When do you go on these college visits? If it is a local college you can go on a day off from school. Some colleges even have tours on the weekends. If you are looking at colleges a bit further off then spring break is a good time to visit. Most people visit colleges during the summer but this isn’t really the best time for a visit because most students aren’t on campus during the summer. And colleges have different feelings when students are not present.
Visiting colleges, either in person or on line, is the best way to figure out if a college is right for you. So get out there and start visiting. Next time, do grades really matter that much?
[…] So, there you have it. The three steps to taking the ACT or SAT and doing well. Next time I will be talking about some things you want to consider when visiting colleges. […]