Can someone tell me how to do a college campus tour?
April 3, 2024 5:49 PM Subscribe
Immigrant parent problems: I haven't the first clue how or what to expect or what to do, whom to contact, what to look for, etc. but I need to start taking my teenager to see some colleges.
I've never been inside an American college campus, I went to college in an Asian country and I think that was likely very different? Also I never even knew there was such a thing as a campus tour back in my time, and my parents had disowned me so I don't even know what role a parent is supposed to play in this process. I'm clueless and anxious and more than a little emotional about doing this with/for my teenager. I don't want to fuck it up, you know? And I don't want my kid to lose out on these experiences just because mom doesn't know anything.
So please can you tell me how to start doing this?
1. Is there some kind of formal process to arrange for an official campus tour if one happens to be visiting the college town? Do college employees just... do that for prospective students (or more accurately for kids who only maaaaayyyybe might apply here in about 18 months' time)? I find this hard to believe but apparently they do, sometimes?
2. What are we supposed to do, just walk around campus? This is the library, this is the biggest lecture theater, this is the cafeteria..?? I mean what does one even look for? What are we trying to find out?
3. Are we supposed to talk to the admissions office? Or perhaps even the financial aid office?
4. I'm guessing we should probably look up the department where my kid hopes to study - right? But, again, like, what do we do, just go look at the department building? Or do we try to talk to professors? But that seems weird and rude???
5. In general how much notice should one give to professors/admissions office people/ campus tour organizer folks, if one is planning to visit? To get super specific, can I call tomorrow and ask for an appointment next Tuesday? (I'm thinking of taking the kid to see the university of Rochester since we will be in town for the eclipse!)
6. Is there a checklist we should carry? What notes should we be taking?
Please help! Thank you so much.
I've never been inside an American college campus, I went to college in an Asian country and I think that was likely very different? Also I never even knew there was such a thing as a campus tour back in my time, and my parents had disowned me so I don't even know what role a parent is supposed to play in this process. I'm clueless and anxious and more than a little emotional about doing this with/for my teenager. I don't want to fuck it up, you know? And I don't want my kid to lose out on these experiences just because mom doesn't know anything.
So please can you tell me how to start doing this?
1. Is there some kind of formal process to arrange for an official campus tour if one happens to be visiting the college town? Do college employees just... do that for prospective students (or more accurately for kids who only maaaaayyyybe might apply here in about 18 months' time)? I find this hard to believe but apparently they do, sometimes?
2. What are we supposed to do, just walk around campus? This is the library, this is the biggest lecture theater, this is the cafeteria..?? I mean what does one even look for? What are we trying to find out?
3. Are we supposed to talk to the admissions office? Or perhaps even the financial aid office?
4. I'm guessing we should probably look up the department where my kid hopes to study - right? But, again, like, what do we do, just go look at the department building? Or do we try to talk to professors? But that seems weird and rude???
5. In general how much notice should one give to professors/admissions office people/ campus tour organizer folks, if one is planning to visit? To get super specific, can I call tomorrow and ask for an appointment next Tuesday? (I'm thinking of taking the kid to see the university of Rochester since we will be in town for the eclipse!)
6. Is there a checklist we should carry? What notes should we be taking?
Please help! Thank you so much.
Look up the Admissions Office number on the website, this is what they’re for.
You can let them know what day you will be in town and they’ll arrange a tour of the campus for you, or let you know what time the scheduled tours are so you can join. On the tour, you’ll see the main buildings, a classroom or two, the library, sports facilities, an example dorm room, and whatever else the college wants to feature. It’s a lot to take in, and on the tour you’re just looking for a feeling that you “fit in” there.
You can ask the Admissions Office to arrange any or all of these extras: meet with a faculty member in the area your child wishes to study, have a meal in a dining hall, attend a class, even sleep over in a dorm. They will be happy to do these things.
Your child will impress if they take charge of asking questions (rather than you running the show). All parents manage to embarrass their kid during the college search process, so you won’t be the odd one out! (Creds: I worked in my college admissions office and gave hundreds of tours to thousands of parents and kids.)
posted by Liesl at 6:01 PM on April 3 [16 favorites]
You can let them know what day you will be in town and they’ll arrange a tour of the campus for you, or let you know what time the scheduled tours are so you can join. On the tour, you’ll see the main buildings, a classroom or two, the library, sports facilities, an example dorm room, and whatever else the college wants to feature. It’s a lot to take in, and on the tour you’re just looking for a feeling that you “fit in” there.
You can ask the Admissions Office to arrange any or all of these extras: meet with a faculty member in the area your child wishes to study, have a meal in a dining hall, attend a class, even sleep over in a dorm. They will be happy to do these things.
Your child will impress if they take charge of asking questions (rather than you running the show). All parents manage to embarrass their kid during the college search process, so you won’t be the odd one out! (Creds: I worked in my college admissions office and gave hundreds of tours to thousands of parents and kids.)
posted by Liesl at 6:01 PM on April 3 [16 favorites]
Here’s some information on campus visits for RIT.
In general, Admissions or Enrollment Services is who you want to talk to, depending on the school.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:04 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
In general, Admissions or Enrollment Services is who you want to talk to, depending on the school.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:04 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
Other people will answer your specific questions but there are actually books aimed at sharing all this knowledge with first-generation US college-goers and their families! I advise looking at an actual bookstore and choosing something published within the last 5 years. They'll vary wildly in tone and you may want to both ask here for recs and skim the books for misplaced misogyny etc. before buying.
posted by wintersweet at 6:05 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
posted by wintersweet at 6:05 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
4. I'm guessing we should probably look up the department where my kid hopes to study - right? But, again, like, what do we do, just go look at the department building? Or do we try to talk to professors?Eh, not really.
One big difference between the American university system, and many foreign ones, is that the undergrad application process is not very subject-area (or major) specific. Sure, if your kid loves e.g. chemistry, you might want to ask the tour guide for some general info about the chem department or to briefly pop into the chem building, but mostly these tours are about getting a feel of the campus overall.
posted by kickingtheground at 6:18 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
Lots of universities have students give the tours. It’s good to leave your kid alone enough to ask the questions they might have without you. (My kid especially appreciated this.)
Getting a sense of space and facilities is a good idea but also the feel of it, the way students move in the space, etc. It’s fine to not know what you are looking for.part of going on tours is discovering what is important to you. Dorms, lab space, incubator space, study space, etc.
Some questions to ask might be about retention and graduation rates for the programs your child is interested in, grad school rates if applicable, size of first year classes, etc. but a lot of that will be available elsewhere too. Really the tour is like visiting a neighborhood before moving there.
I’d also recommend your child get on email lists as a prospective student at schools they are interested in so they get notified about events, both virtual and in person.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:21 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
Getting a sense of space and facilities is a good idea but also the feel of it, the way students move in the space, etc. It’s fine to not know what you are looking for.part of going on tours is discovering what is important to you. Dorms, lab space, incubator space, study space, etc.
Some questions to ask might be about retention and graduation rates for the programs your child is interested in, grad school rates if applicable, size of first year classes, etc. but a lot of that will be available elsewhere too. Really the tour is like visiting a neighborhood before moving there.
I’d also recommend your child get on email lists as a prospective student at schools they are interested in so they get notified about events, both virtual and in person.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:21 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
You just contact the admissions office (or check their website to see if you even need to book). They'll inevitably have you stand round in a circle at the start of the tour and have your kid say where you live and what year in school they are. I will bet you anything half the people will say "we're in town for the eclipse and figured we'd do a tour".
I went on some campus visits with my best friend, whose dad did arrange for us to meet with whoever was around in $revelant_department, but I don't know how he did it, nor whether that was "expected". I honestly didn't find it that useful. (I am the child of an immigrant parent. We leaned heavily on my friend's dad for "how to do this college thing". It was only in adulthood I realised he hadn't gone to college in the US either! My friend was like "well, he did a lot of research".)
More than anything, campus tours are a vibe check than a source of actual information, especially since the information will be on the website anyway. Twenty years later, I only remember the disasters (the Princeton admissions office calling their students anti-intellectual was the highlight). I know I went on the tour at the university I attended, but I remember nothing of it.
posted by hoyland at 6:22 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
I went on some campus visits with my best friend, whose dad did arrange for us to meet with whoever was around in $revelant_department, but I don't know how he did it, nor whether that was "expected". I honestly didn't find it that useful. (I am the child of an immigrant parent. We leaned heavily on my friend's dad for "how to do this college thing". It was only in adulthood I realised he hadn't gone to college in the US either! My friend was like "well, he did a lot of research".)
More than anything, campus tours are a vibe check than a source of actual information, especially since the information will be on the website anyway. Twenty years later, I only remember the disasters (the Princeton admissions office calling their students anti-intellectual was the highlight). I know I went on the tour at the university I attended, but I remember nothing of it.
posted by hoyland at 6:22 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
1. Yes, yep, this is a whole thing at American schools! Very, very usual. It may not be employees who actually lead the tour -- at the school I teach in, it's (paid) student docents.
2. Beyond the tour, can't hurt to read up on the school and the town beforehand for anything cool to check out while you're there. Are there campus museums? (My school has, like, three off the top of my head, but I think we're a tad unusual in that.) Archives or library special collections showing off anything interesting? Performances? Sportsball games? Meetings for interesting-sounding student groups? (Maybe look for affinity groups relevant to folks from your folks' part of the world, if that might be important to your child? Or is there a Multicultural Student Center or similar?) Where are the good restaurants? The good pizza?
3. Yeah, this stuff will almost always go through admissions or similar.
4. My advice here changes depending on how focused your child's interests are. If they ARE focused, find the appropriate department(s), check through their faculty pages, and see if your child would like to send a polite "hi, applicant here, interested in the Underwater Basketweaving course you teach, could we meet up for coffee on X day?" email to someone. A brushoff is likely, not gonna lie, but it's not certain -- I love these meetups, myself, and never miss one. HOWEVER, if your child is still exploring, I'm with kickingtheground -- this is not necessary at all.
Another option is to ask the department whether child can sit in on a class, schedules permitting. I always allow this for my classes (I am a Large Ham, so my teaching style tends to appeal).
5. Not sure about this one, will defer to others. My sense is that tour sizes are at least a bit elastic, so they might be able to fit you in on fairly short notice?
6. If it's about money or red tape, take good notes. Otherwise, I think you can relax and let it all soak in. Do pay attention to how you and your child are treated. I chose my undergrad school in large part based on how willing they were to go to bat for me, and that was a pretty good yardstick actually.
posted by humbug at 6:30 PM on April 3 [6 favorites]
2. Beyond the tour, can't hurt to read up on the school and the town beforehand for anything cool to check out while you're there. Are there campus museums? (My school has, like, three off the top of my head, but I think we're a tad unusual in that.) Archives or library special collections showing off anything interesting? Performances? Sportsball games? Meetings for interesting-sounding student groups? (Maybe look for affinity groups relevant to folks from your folks' part of the world, if that might be important to your child? Or is there a Multicultural Student Center or similar?) Where are the good restaurants? The good pizza?
3. Yeah, this stuff will almost always go through admissions or similar.
4. My advice here changes depending on how focused your child's interests are. If they ARE focused, find the appropriate department(s), check through their faculty pages, and see if your child would like to send a polite "hi, applicant here, interested in the Underwater Basketweaving course you teach, could we meet up for coffee on X day?" email to someone. A brushoff is likely, not gonna lie, but it's not certain -- I love these meetups, myself, and never miss one. HOWEVER, if your child is still exploring, I'm with kickingtheground -- this is not necessary at all.
Another option is to ask the department whether child can sit in on a class, schedules permitting. I always allow this for my classes (I am a Large Ham, so my teaching style tends to appeal).
5. Not sure about this one, will defer to others. My sense is that tour sizes are at least a bit elastic, so they might be able to fit you in on fairly short notice?
6. If it's about money or red tape, take good notes. Otherwise, I think you can relax and let it all soak in. Do pay attention to how you and your child are treated. I chose my undergrad school in large part based on how willing they were to go to bat for me, and that was a pretty good yardstick actually.
posted by humbug at 6:30 PM on April 3 [6 favorites]
When I was in college I did some of the tours at a public state school. Basically for me it was a volunteer role.
Some people came alone, others came with multiple family members both is fine! There was a university spiel and I had to promise to be positive about my experience at the university to do it. The university I worked for had some social events and other stuff between the tour parts, and a presentation in an auditorium that was bit of a overview. Each school will do these differently but there is entire marketing departments aimed at helping students get familar so don't be shy. This is a thing. I think there was a few weeks where they did the official tours but they could be done at other times of the year but less structured.
Many people have really widely varied expectations of what any particular campus is like and they can be so different from eachother. Even families who had parents who had attended the same university had so many comments about how things were different or unexpected.
posted by AlexiaSky at 6:37 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
Some people came alone, others came with multiple family members both is fine! There was a university spiel and I had to promise to be positive about my experience at the university to do it. The university I worked for had some social events and other stuff between the tour parts, and a presentation in an auditorium that was bit of a overview. Each school will do these differently but there is entire marketing departments aimed at helping students get familar so don't be shy. This is a thing. I think there was a few weeks where they did the official tours but they could be done at other times of the year but less structured.
Many people have really widely varied expectations of what any particular campus is like and they can be so different from eachother. Even families who had parents who had attended the same university had so many comments about how things were different or unexpected.
posted by AlexiaSky at 6:37 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
You got great answers to the logistical answers so let me just answer this part:
I don't want to fuck it up, you know? And I don't want my kid to lose out on these experiences just because mom doesn't know anything.
The stakes here are extremely low. If your kid tours several colleges they will quickly come to see that the tours are all kind of the same. You really can't fuck this up, and there is no big experience here that's vital to your kid's well-being. Good luck!
posted by escabeche at 6:46 PM on April 3 [12 favorites]
I don't want to fuck it up, you know? And I don't want my kid to lose out on these experiences just because mom doesn't know anything.
The stakes here are extremely low. If your kid tours several colleges they will quickly come to see that the tours are all kind of the same. You really can't fuck this up, and there is no big experience here that's vital to your kid's well-being. Good luck!
posted by escabeche at 6:46 PM on April 3 [12 favorites]
More than anything, campus tours are a vibe check than a source of actual information
Exactly. Nothing to "mess up" here, for serious.
posted by praemunire at 6:52 PM on April 3 [5 favorites]
Exactly. Nothing to "mess up" here, for serious.
posted by praemunire at 6:52 PM on April 3 [5 favorites]
One other thing that I don't see mentioned yet - the "college visit" trip thing isn't just about the actual visit and campus tour and all of the details that you are asking about - it's also usually a lot just about visiting the town/city/region and checking it out in a more informal, touristic way.
posted by Perplexity at 7:02 PM on April 3 [5 favorites]
posted by Perplexity at 7:02 PM on April 3 [5 favorites]
You will be totally fine. Look up the university web site and there will almost certainly be a section for visitors, right on the front page somewhere, because universities want to make this easy for you. It's very possible you can arrange to tour individual departments - my university provides contact info and schedules for that linked clearly from the same page as the general campus tour information.
You should expect to be led around by students and maybe to have a general admissions information session led by a staff member, but you're not likely to meet with faculty.
It's definitely a vibes based process. You're getting a general sense for campus life and layout, maybe seeing a dorm room, some dining and gym facilities, you'll learn a bit about what the university likes to emphasize as their strengths. Your tour may strategically separate you from the kids for a few minutes so they can ask about party life and you can ask about your concerns you don't want to embarrass your kid by asking in front of the other kids. Maybe questions like, what sorts of support are available for children of immigrant parents, first generation American college students, students of a specific ethnicity, marginalized gender or sexual orientation, or whatever you can imagine your kid looking for support for?
Definitely check out the area in general, not just campus. What's the area going to be like when your kid leaves campus? Generally safe? Is there good transit or the ability for freshmen to bring and park cars without paying out the nose? A nearby grocery store, some restaurants, whatever sorts of cultural things your kid is into? Take a look at bulletin boards with flyers for events, does it seem like your kid would have things they'd like to do?
Honestly though, beyond just a general sense of liking or disliking the vibe and the people, there's nothing you will learn that you can't learn on the website and brochures. Don't worry about taking a ton of notes or missing some critical thing.
posted by Stacey at 7:10 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
You should expect to be led around by students and maybe to have a general admissions information session led by a staff member, but you're not likely to meet with faculty.
It's definitely a vibes based process. You're getting a general sense for campus life and layout, maybe seeing a dorm room, some dining and gym facilities, you'll learn a bit about what the university likes to emphasize as their strengths. Your tour may strategically separate you from the kids for a few minutes so they can ask about party life and you can ask about your concerns you don't want to embarrass your kid by asking in front of the other kids. Maybe questions like, what sorts of support are available for children of immigrant parents, first generation American college students, students of a specific ethnicity, marginalized gender or sexual orientation, or whatever you can imagine your kid looking for support for?
Definitely check out the area in general, not just campus. What's the area going to be like when your kid leaves campus? Generally safe? Is there good transit or the ability for freshmen to bring and park cars without paying out the nose? A nearby grocery store, some restaurants, whatever sorts of cultural things your kid is into? Take a look at bulletin boards with flyers for events, does it seem like your kid would have things they'd like to do?
Honestly though, beyond just a general sense of liking or disliking the vibe and the people, there's nothing you will learn that you can't learn on the website and brochures. Don't worry about taking a ton of notes or missing some critical thing.
posted by Stacey at 7:10 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
I spent the past six years as a director of college counseling at a day/boarding school with 35% non US citizens who almost all wanted to attend US universities even though their parents hadn't. I'm happy to answer questions if you ever want to memail.
Many well known schools these days have limited their in person tours thanks to Covid and usually require you to register online in advance - the more popular the school the more full the tours get in advance. If you google "name of school campus tour" you can usually find or follow links to where to register. Here is a shortcut to U Rochester's registration - they are full on April 8th but have 9am and 2pm tours on the 9th.
And just for the heck of it here are the most common misunderstandings I heard from international students and families about how college "works" in the US:
1) Already mentioned but most admissions process aren't focused on what a student wants to study and roughly 50% of students depending on the school apply as "undecided" and once they're attending usually another 50% change their major at least once. Big exceptions to this are Nursing (not Pre-med since that doesn't really exist as a major), engineering, architecture, computer science, and sometimes business. Also audition or portfolio-based arts. These majors usually are more competitive and/or have more requirements to fulfill so its harder to transfer into these programs once you're at a school.
2) If a school provides a four year bachelors degree program, it hardly matters if it calls itself a college or university. Families seemed to get really hung up on wanting to avoid colleges amd only apply to universities because as i gathered the term is usually associated with something 2nd tier or not academically focused in some countries. The differences between college and university in the US aren't completely black and white - universiites tend to be larger, be separated into different smaller schools or colleges within the university, and have a variety of post grad degree programs, but not always. And You shouldn't pick a school for undergrad just because they are super well known for a graduate school program because what a student experiences in undergrad is vastly different than grad.
3) The vast amount of other countries' higher ed systems seem to rely on one score on a national exam to determine admissions. That's never really been the case in the US and ESPECIALLY now since COVID temporarily made it impossible to take our semi-equivalent tests, the SAT or ACT. So almost nothing is truly standardized across the admissions process and if you have the time and capacity to help your kid, being their researcher/administrative assistant on finding out each schools deadlines, financial aid procedure, test policies, tour registration, interview policies, etc can be super helpful while you encourage them to drive the more exploratory/vibe-y things and proactively reach out on email/phone with less dry/straightforward questions.
4) Also from my understanding, in some countries it seems that there is truly only a select few universities that are considered best and offer a straight pipeline to career success. This is also not the case in the US. Beyond a student's very first job out of College, no one is really going to care the name of the school they attended, especially if they took advantage of as many opportunities as possible wherever they end up (study abroad, internships, campus jobs, research, clubs, engaging with professors regularly, etc). The research consistently shows that the most elite/name brand schools are more likely to change the life and career/income trajectory of first-gen low income students of color, and even then not always because of the hurdles they have to face constantly. Life/career/income trajectories of students whose families are educated and have higher incomes are much more likely to be fine no matter what.
Sorry i wrote so much, I love this stuff.
posted by wannabecounselor at 7:31 PM on April 3 [16 favorites]
Many well known schools these days have limited their in person tours thanks to Covid and usually require you to register online in advance - the more popular the school the more full the tours get in advance. If you google "name of school campus tour" you can usually find or follow links to where to register. Here is a shortcut to U Rochester's registration - they are full on April 8th but have 9am and 2pm tours on the 9th.
And just for the heck of it here are the most common misunderstandings I heard from international students and families about how college "works" in the US:
1) Already mentioned but most admissions process aren't focused on what a student wants to study and roughly 50% of students depending on the school apply as "undecided" and once they're attending usually another 50% change their major at least once. Big exceptions to this are Nursing (not Pre-med since that doesn't really exist as a major), engineering, architecture, computer science, and sometimes business. Also audition or portfolio-based arts. These majors usually are more competitive and/or have more requirements to fulfill so its harder to transfer into these programs once you're at a school.
2) If a school provides a four year bachelors degree program, it hardly matters if it calls itself a college or university. Families seemed to get really hung up on wanting to avoid colleges amd only apply to universities because as i gathered the term is usually associated with something 2nd tier or not academically focused in some countries. The differences between college and university in the US aren't completely black and white - universiites tend to be larger, be separated into different smaller schools or colleges within the university, and have a variety of post grad degree programs, but not always. And You shouldn't pick a school for undergrad just because they are super well known for a graduate school program because what a student experiences in undergrad is vastly different than grad.
3) The vast amount of other countries' higher ed systems seem to rely on one score on a national exam to determine admissions. That's never really been the case in the US and ESPECIALLY now since COVID temporarily made it impossible to take our semi-equivalent tests, the SAT or ACT. So almost nothing is truly standardized across the admissions process and if you have the time and capacity to help your kid, being their researcher/administrative assistant on finding out each schools deadlines, financial aid procedure, test policies, tour registration, interview policies, etc can be super helpful while you encourage them to drive the more exploratory/vibe-y things and proactively reach out on email/phone with less dry/straightforward questions.
4) Also from my understanding, in some countries it seems that there is truly only a select few universities that are considered best and offer a straight pipeline to career success. This is also not the case in the US. Beyond a student's very first job out of College, no one is really going to care the name of the school they attended, especially if they took advantage of as many opportunities as possible wherever they end up (study abroad, internships, campus jobs, research, clubs, engaging with professors regularly, etc). The research consistently shows that the most elite/name brand schools are more likely to change the life and career/income trajectory of first-gen low income students of color, and even then not always because of the hurdles they have to face constantly. Life/career/income trajectories of students whose families are educated and have higher incomes are much more likely to be fine no matter what.
Sorry i wrote so much, I love this stuff.
posted by wannabecounselor at 7:31 PM on April 3 [16 favorites]
+1 for contact the Admissions Office and don't worry too much, the tours are a fairly surface-level "vibe check."
I'd also just try to spend as much time as you can outside of the regular tour route. Get a meal at the cafeteria, eavesdrop on people's conversations, sit in on a class, etc.
Questions to ponder:
-How extensive and precise is the core curriculum? Some places pretty much saddle you with one-two years worth of specific required courses, whereas other places just require you take so many credits in the humanities, so many in social science, so many in STEM, etc. but the student gets to choose which classes to take.
-What happens if you lose your job - is financial aid likely to fill in the gap? Some schools promise to work with you if your finances change, so don't.
-If you sit in on a class, keep in mind sometimes even good classes have off days - a better metric is - do the students seem to like the professor? and do the students seem generally engaged with the class?
-What resources are there to help students succeed academically and in terms of mental health?
-What opportunities exist beyond the classroom? (internships, research, subsidized study abroad, etc.)
-How much of the faculty is tenure-track vs. adjunct/lecturer? The labor conditions on campus matter for students too.
posted by coffeecat at 7:36 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
I'd also just try to spend as much time as you can outside of the regular tour route. Get a meal at the cafeteria, eavesdrop on people's conversations, sit in on a class, etc.
Questions to ponder:
-How extensive and precise is the core curriculum? Some places pretty much saddle you with one-two years worth of specific required courses, whereas other places just require you take so many credits in the humanities, so many in social science, so many in STEM, etc. but the student gets to choose which classes to take.
-What happens if you lose your job - is financial aid likely to fill in the gap? Some schools promise to work with you if your finances change, so don't.
-If you sit in on a class, keep in mind sometimes even good classes have off days - a better metric is - do the students seem to like the professor? and do the students seem generally engaged with the class?
-What resources are there to help students succeed academically and in terms of mental health?
-What opportunities exist beyond the classroom? (internships, research, subsidized study abroad, etc.)
-How much of the faculty is tenure-track vs. adjunct/lecturer? The labor conditions on campus matter for students too.
posted by coffeecat at 7:36 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
Colleges are aware that not all families have firsthand experience in higher education -- you can mention it when you set up your visit, and ask if they have some extra time for someone to meet privately with you to explain the whole process of applying and then being a student (or perhaps a group session).
They may also have scholarships or programs specifically for first generation students, and don't be shy about taking anything you can get. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:37 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
They may also have scholarships or programs specifically for first generation students, and don't be shy about taking anything you can get. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:37 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
You already got lots of excellent advice, I just wanted to point you to another resource for this and other questions that may come up -- the forum for parents on the College Confidential site can be a good resource for information, including for these kinds of "hidden curriculum" questions/topics.
Good luck! I am gearing up to tour colleges with my child this spring/summer, but thirty years ago I was in your kid's shoes, we were a relatively "fresh off the boat" immigrant family, and my parents, despite having graduate degrees in our country of origin, did not have a good sense of how college admissions in the US were organized.
posted by virve at 7:46 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
Good luck! I am gearing up to tour colleges with my child this spring/summer, but thirty years ago I was in your kid's shoes, we were a relatively "fresh off the boat" immigrant family, and my parents, despite having graduate degrees in our country of origin, did not have a good sense of how college admissions in the US were organized.
posted by virve at 7:46 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
Here's where to sign up for a campus visit at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Looks like there are tours at 10am, 12pm and 2pm next Tuesday.
(Yes, there is also a University of Rochester)
posted by evilmomlady at 8:03 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
(Yes, there is also a University of Rochester)
posted by evilmomlady at 8:03 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
I teach at a university and yes, this is a whole thing - there are special visit days for prospective students and their families, and then additional visits for admitted students and their families. You sign up so they know to expect you. If you go, you will likely also get to visit with academic advisors in your kid’s potential major.
If none of this works with your schedule, you can also do unofficial visits and walk around campus on your own. The schools may even have information online how to do a self-directed tour.
posted by Knowyournuts at 8:17 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
If none of this works with your schedule, you can also do unofficial visits and walk around campus on your own. The schools may even have information online how to do a self-directed tour.
posted by Knowyournuts at 8:17 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
I think it depends greatly on the selectivity of the colleges and universities. My experience in admissions has been as a student working in Admission at an elite liberal arts college (always in the top ten) and working in admissions at a middle tier university.
At elite schools, the tour/visit is a mutual exchange. Tour guides want to sell the school, but they are also judging the perspective students. Admission is highly competitive, and every interaction with the school is being judged and evaluated. The student, not the parent, should always set up the tour. The student must be the one to initiate the questions, but they should appear to have already researched the basics. These schools reject 10 - 20 students for every one student they admit, a negative comment from the person who gave you the tour could sink you before you have even begun the admission process.
At most schools, though, the tour is much more of a one way process, the admission's representative (student or professional) is trying to sell you the school. Think of it as a sales pitch, and it is much more important for you to look beyond what is being said.
posted by hworth at 8:19 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
At elite schools, the tour/visit is a mutual exchange. Tour guides want to sell the school, but they are also judging the perspective students. Admission is highly competitive, and every interaction with the school is being judged and evaluated. The student, not the parent, should always set up the tour. The student must be the one to initiate the questions, but they should appear to have already researched the basics. These schools reject 10 - 20 students for every one student they admit, a negative comment from the person who gave you the tour could sink you before you have even begun the admission process.
At most schools, though, the tour is much more of a one way process, the admission's representative (student or professional) is trying to sell you the school. Think of it as a sales pitch, and it is much more important for you to look beyond what is being said.
posted by hworth at 8:19 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
I don't have much practical advice, but I was a first-generation college student and neither of my parents ever did a college tour or applied to college. My dad and I went on 2 sets of college tours together and I have little memory of the actual campus visits, but they are some of my very favorite memories of being with my dad--it was really special to have time dedicated to me, to explore neighborhoods and get a taste of being a grownup traveling with another grownup. Just a pep talk to help you know your inexperience with American college life will not screw this up for you or your kid. Have fun!
posted by assenav at 8:24 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
posted by assenav at 8:24 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
Maybe there are different tiers of tours, but New England’s perpetual one and two gave tours last year that wanted to know you showed up, but the delightful students who led the tours did not know our names or have a roster in hand. I don’t see how the tour itself did anything either way for the child’s chances. The only interviews were Student or Alum interviews, I would guess those are make or break events.
We caught covid and had to cancel another tour and that made no difference as well.
All the advice here is solid, just enjoy the time and let your child lead. You might learn something new about your child due to the change in context, which is fun. It is great that you are doing this together.
posted by drowsy at 8:51 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
We caught covid and had to cancel another tour and that made no difference as well.
All the advice here is solid, just enjoy the time and let your child lead. You might learn something new about your child due to the change in context, which is fun. It is great that you are doing this together.
posted by drowsy at 8:51 PM on April 3 [2 favorites]
These schools reject 10 - 20 students for every one student they admit, a negative comment from the person who gave you the tour could sink you before you have even begun the admission process.
whaaaaaat, no
odds are they won't even know your name!
posted by praemunire at 10:23 PM on April 3 [16 favorites]
whaaaaaat, no
odds are they won't even know your name!
posted by praemunire at 10:23 PM on April 3 [16 favorites]
My first kid applied to colleges on the opposite coast. We waited to do the visits until we saw where he got admitted and then took advantage of the special campus visits (tours, sample classes, hang out with current students) for admitted students.
My second kid swore she wasn't going to do a four year school until December of her senior year so we hadn't done any campus visits anywhere (although she did have some campus experiences via her various summer programs) When the time came, she was deciding between a local school and a distant one and we were able to schedule a visit to each after we knew she had been admitted and was seriously interested.
My point is that while a couple of college visits can be very helpful to get a feel for the difference between schools, they don't make a difference in your chances of getting in. It is fine to apply to schools that the kid hasn't visited although it is really nice to be able to visit and get a feel of campus life before making the final decision. (Nice but not something that works out for everyone for time or cost reasons.) Also, you can do some college visits to schools that happen to be nearby (that your kid might not be serious about applying to) to get a feel for the differences between urban/suburban/rural of large university/small liberal arts college.
posted by metahawk at 10:44 PM on April 3 [1 favorite]
My second kid swore she wasn't going to do a four year school until December of her senior year so we hadn't done any campus visits anywhere (although she did have some campus experiences via her various summer programs) When the time came, she was deciding between a local school and a distant one and we were able to schedule a visit to each after we knew she had been admitted and was seriously interested.
My point is that while a couple of college visits can be very helpful to get a feel for the difference between schools, they don't make a difference in your chances of getting in. It is fine to apply to schools that the kid hasn't visited although it is really nice to be able to visit and get a feel of campus life before making the final decision. (Nice but not something that works out for everyone for time or cost reasons.) Also, you can do some college visits to schools that happen to be nearby (that your kid might not be serious about applying to) to get a feel for the differences between urban/suburban/rural of large university/small liberal arts college.
posted by metahawk at 10:44 PM on April 3 [1 favorite]
Agreeing with many here that it is largely a vibe check, but that's still rather vague. When I went on a campus tour trip (road tripping with my parents through several states to see about 6-7 different colleges), it was after I'd already applied and been accepted and was trying to decide, which meant I felt I could be pickier than if I was still trying to get in anywhere.
Things I discovered in person that I wouldn't have thought about otherwise:
One town had some sort of food factory that had the most godawful smell. I could barely breathe the entire time I was there and was told it was common. Instant rejection from me.
One college dropped much lower on my list after discovering all the dorms were distant from campus, the buildings for my majors were on opposite sides of campus, and everything was on steap hills in Minnesota. Not a deal breaker, but not something I was looking forward to in the winter.
One campus was located a distance from town and had poor public transport, and considering I wouldn't have a car for the first year, that would really suck.
One campus has the most gorgeous, comfortable library that I wanted to spend hours in.
The food at one campus was considerably better than all the rest.
The facilities boasted about at one campus were... Exaggerated. Like yes, technically, they had XYZ, just a really small sad version of it.
Several of the visits I stayed in a guest dorm overnight which was really nice in getting a better sense of the campus community and vibe. Most of them I had a meeting with someone specific to my major that had been set up beforehand, a couple I did... IDK what to call it, tryouts? Application in person?? For musical scholarships rather than taping something. Almost all of the tours themselves were group ones. And I'd definitely want to check out the college town itself as well.
I think it was most useful, in the end, for letting me get a better understanding of what was actually important to me in a campus vs what I thought was important, and what I hadn't even thought about until it'd come up at multiple campuses. Especially since this is pre-application, try not to stress over it much, it's not something you can really do wrong.
posted by unsettledink at 10:48 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
Things I discovered in person that I wouldn't have thought about otherwise:
One town had some sort of food factory that had the most godawful smell. I could barely breathe the entire time I was there and was told it was common. Instant rejection from me.
One college dropped much lower on my list after discovering all the dorms were distant from campus, the buildings for my majors were on opposite sides of campus, and everything was on steap hills in Minnesota. Not a deal breaker, but not something I was looking forward to in the winter.
One campus was located a distance from town and had poor public transport, and considering I wouldn't have a car for the first year, that would really suck.
One campus has the most gorgeous, comfortable library that I wanted to spend hours in.
The food at one campus was considerably better than all the rest.
The facilities boasted about at one campus were... Exaggerated. Like yes, technically, they had XYZ, just a really small sad version of it.
Several of the visits I stayed in a guest dorm overnight which was really nice in getting a better sense of the campus community and vibe. Most of them I had a meeting with someone specific to my major that had been set up beforehand, a couple I did... IDK what to call it, tryouts? Application in person?? For musical scholarships rather than taping something. Almost all of the tours themselves were group ones. And I'd definitely want to check out the college town itself as well.
I think it was most useful, in the end, for letting me get a better understanding of what was actually important to me in a campus vs what I thought was important, and what I hadn't even thought about until it'd come up at multiple campuses. Especially since this is pre-application, try not to stress over it much, it's not something you can really do wrong.
posted by unsettledink at 10:48 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
At elite schools, the tour/visit is a mutual exchange. Tour guides want to sell the school, but they are also judging the perspective students. Admission is highly competitive, and every interaction with the school is being judged and evaluated.
This was the experience I had at my tour of Brown, which was right in the middle of my east coast college visit extravaganza. The tour freaked me out so much that I didn’t even apply. This was decades ago but they even explained that we had to fill out our admissions paperwork by hand because part of it was handwriting analysis. Such BS. Compared to the other schools I visited it stuck out like a sore thumb.
Everywhere else was full of teens and their parents being kind of goofy and teasing each other and exploring and asking good questions like “really though how is the food seriously?” And “how involved is the lgbt club in campus activities?” And “please excuse my father he has to take pictures everywhere he visits oh god STOP IT DAD”
My brother on the other hand was a super brilliant perfect SAT score compsci physicist guy and he applied to basically every Ivy League, Cal Tech, Carnegie Melon, MIT, and like, one normal school I cannot recall. He is older so when we compared notes after my confounding Brown experience he was not at all surprised. Apparently the only college visit that wasn’t like that for him was Princeton, which he had already done a summer time program with so I guess they knew him and he was pre-vetted? And Carnegie Mellon, which he ended up attending, was apparently much more upfront about the evaluation aspect - they had student guides for an informal tour and then kids split up to talk with people from different departments they wanted to focus on, and those people were clear that they were judging the students and it was a mutual exchange. In comparison the only school tour that had ANY aspects like this at ALL for me was Brown, and I wasn’t exactly a slouch, just compared to my super genius brother, so it’s not like the other schools I visited were mediocre.
If your kid is indeed checking out RIT that’s cool, like half my highschool friends went there! I haven’t been in a while but if the school has the same energy as when my friends attended it seemed nicely diverse with a good focus on applicable skills and creative expression. One of my best friends transferred there after a year at a state school and she got into their well-regarded animation program on scholarship, she is now a successful storyboarder and animator in LA. I highly, highly doubt anything you do as a reasonable adult on a campus tour there would interfere in your kid’s application process, and the chances of your kid needing to be prepped in any particular way is super low.
posted by Mizu at 11:19 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
This was the experience I had at my tour of Brown, which was right in the middle of my east coast college visit extravaganza. The tour freaked me out so much that I didn’t even apply. This was decades ago but they even explained that we had to fill out our admissions paperwork by hand because part of it was handwriting analysis. Such BS. Compared to the other schools I visited it stuck out like a sore thumb.
Everywhere else was full of teens and their parents being kind of goofy and teasing each other and exploring and asking good questions like “really though how is the food seriously?” And “how involved is the lgbt club in campus activities?” And “please excuse my father he has to take pictures everywhere he visits oh god STOP IT DAD”
My brother on the other hand was a super brilliant perfect SAT score compsci physicist guy and he applied to basically every Ivy League, Cal Tech, Carnegie Melon, MIT, and like, one normal school I cannot recall. He is older so when we compared notes after my confounding Brown experience he was not at all surprised. Apparently the only college visit that wasn’t like that for him was Princeton, which he had already done a summer time program with so I guess they knew him and he was pre-vetted? And Carnegie Mellon, which he ended up attending, was apparently much more upfront about the evaluation aspect - they had student guides for an informal tour and then kids split up to talk with people from different departments they wanted to focus on, and those people were clear that they were judging the students and it was a mutual exchange. In comparison the only school tour that had ANY aspects like this at ALL for me was Brown, and I wasn’t exactly a slouch, just compared to my super genius brother, so it’s not like the other schools I visited were mediocre.
If your kid is indeed checking out RIT that’s cool, like half my highschool friends went there! I haven’t been in a while but if the school has the same energy as when my friends attended it seemed nicely diverse with a good focus on applicable skills and creative expression. One of my best friends transferred there after a year at a state school and she got into their well-regarded animation program on scholarship, she is now a successful storyboarder and animator in LA. I highly, highly doubt anything you do as a reasonable adult on a campus tour there would interfere in your kid’s application process, and the chances of your kid needing to be prepped in any particular way is super low.
posted by Mizu at 11:19 PM on April 3 [4 favorites]
Coming back to say - a couple of people recommended College Confidential and please please take things there with a huge gigantic grain of salt and don't get sucked into the rabbit holes of what specific "thing" can get you in/got you in. And also for people sharing advice/experience that is based on anything older than 5-10 years... things rapidly change in the college admissions world and have especially shifted since COVID. My favorite example is Northeastern University which used to be considered a commuter school that let everyone in, and now is sub 10% acceptance rate.
posted by wannabecounselor at 3:34 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
posted by wannabecounselor at 3:34 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
Years and years ago, I was the School Liaison Officer for my Department at a mid-tier UK University, responsible for co-ordinating Open Days for prospective students. I eventually wrote an article for New Scientist "So you're thinking of going to University" which was a list of Socratic Qs for the youngsters to ask. Some of these were trying to determine how much students were valued as a community asset. Some were about logistics: city centre vs green-field campus; transport; halls of residence; cars and bicycles. One thing not mentioned above was to ask about student societies (chess / badminton / hang-gliding). In those days, at that place it was uncommon for parents to tag along. I've found a copy of the NewSci piece in my 'archive'.
posted by BobTheScientist at 3:47 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
posted by BobTheScientist at 3:47 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
Am prof at a Giant SUNY.
1. The first thing to remember is that these are normal, boring things for groups of families, not a weird special thing that will have to be set up just for you. Just google [name of school] tour and something will pop up, probably from the admissions office but maybe some other unit. They're quite often led by students. One catch here is that individual schools of the university might have their own tour programs, at least for the schools that aren't the biggest, most obvious school. At most Big State U's, the engineering school and nursing school and undergrad business school might run their own tours that are separate from the main tours (which will be dominated by whatever they call their College of Arts and Sciences). At someplace like RIT, the main tour is likely to be engineering-oriented. Yes, RIT and U of R are different schools! It's even more fun one city to the west where we have two entirely different SUNY-Buffaloses.
2. You should expect to be in a small to medium crowd of people being led by a student walking backwards. You'll be shown some academic buildings and maybe the interior of a dorm building and get little stories about campus history and suchlike. The student leading the pack of families will probably not have much in the way of hard quantitative information.
For the purposes of picking a college, it's overwhelmingly "just" a vibe check but that's worth paying attention to. Like someone else here, I was put off enough by the tour of Brown not to apply (I don't remember what; this was 1987). The overall vibe and character of the college's setting matters too. Parents and especially parents of first-generation US college students often think this vibe check is silly, but it's worth paying attention to. A good chunk of how well someone does during college will be determined by how happy/miserable they are, and the general feeling of the school and its setting goes a long way towards that. Unless you're at the absolute bleeding edge of what students are capable of, being a student at the #19 Department of Whatever versus the #123 department doesn't generally matter in and of itself.
3. You can try to talk to admissions or financial aid but it's probably not worth bothering. Admissions will blow sunshine right up your butt all day; this is what they're paid to do. Financial aid will likewise tell you all sorts of positive sounding things that make zero commitments. These are things best looked up elsewhere.
4. As others have noted, admissions in US schools is only rarely by department. However, it's relatively common for admissions to be by school, where the School of Engineering runs admissions separately from the College of Arts and Sciences. If your kid is interested in something other than whatever a school's Big Main Thing is, it's worth checking if Kid Specific School has their own tours.
You shouldn't feel like you need to talk to profs or administrators. Again, vibe check.
5. Just google who to contact and remember that you'll just be joining a tour that's happening anyway, not asking for something special to be created for you.
6. Talk to your teenager about what they're looking for in a college, that's your checklist.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:36 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
1. The first thing to remember is that these are normal, boring things for groups of families, not a weird special thing that will have to be set up just for you. Just google [name of school] tour and something will pop up, probably from the admissions office but maybe some other unit. They're quite often led by students. One catch here is that individual schools of the university might have their own tour programs, at least for the schools that aren't the biggest, most obvious school. At most Big State U's, the engineering school and nursing school and undergrad business school might run their own tours that are separate from the main tours (which will be dominated by whatever they call their College of Arts and Sciences). At someplace like RIT, the main tour is likely to be engineering-oriented. Yes, RIT and U of R are different schools! It's even more fun one city to the west where we have two entirely different SUNY-Buffaloses.
2. You should expect to be in a small to medium crowd of people being led by a student walking backwards. You'll be shown some academic buildings and maybe the interior of a dorm building and get little stories about campus history and suchlike. The student leading the pack of families will probably not have much in the way of hard quantitative information.
For the purposes of picking a college, it's overwhelmingly "just" a vibe check but that's worth paying attention to. Like someone else here, I was put off enough by the tour of Brown not to apply (I don't remember what; this was 1987). The overall vibe and character of the college's setting matters too. Parents and especially parents of first-generation US college students often think this vibe check is silly, but it's worth paying attention to. A good chunk of how well someone does during college will be determined by how happy/miserable they are, and the general feeling of the school and its setting goes a long way towards that. Unless you're at the absolute bleeding edge of what students are capable of, being a student at the #19 Department of Whatever versus the #123 department doesn't generally matter in and of itself.
3. You can try to talk to admissions or financial aid but it's probably not worth bothering. Admissions will blow sunshine right up your butt all day; this is what they're paid to do. Financial aid will likewise tell you all sorts of positive sounding things that make zero commitments. These are things best looked up elsewhere.
4. As others have noted, admissions in US schools is only rarely by department. However, it's relatively common for admissions to be by school, where the School of Engineering runs admissions separately from the College of Arts and Sciences. If your kid is interested in something other than whatever a school's Big Main Thing is, it's worth checking if Kid Specific School has their own tours.
You shouldn't feel like you need to talk to profs or administrators. Again, vibe check.
5. Just google who to contact and remember that you'll just be joining a tour that's happening anyway, not asking for something special to be created for you.
6. Talk to your teenager about what they're looking for in a college, that's your checklist.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:36 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
(ObDisc: I have worked at a mid-size, private, East Coast university for 20+ years, and so far have three kids in college. I attended three colleges, studied abroad, and regularly spend time on several campuses around the region.)
Don't be shy about pushing to the front of the tour group as you walk. Ask the guide questions -- which they may not know the answers to! At some schools, the tour guides study up to be able to answer questions well; at other schools, they shrug.
As for what to look for on the tour, I have a few favorites:
posted by wenestvedt at 6:06 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
Don't be shy about pushing to the front of the tour group as you walk. Ask the guide questions -- which they may not know the answers to! At some schools, the tour guides study up to be able to answer questions well; at other schools, they shrug.
As for what to look for on the tour, I have a few favorites:
- Do the dorms smell? How much light is in the rooms? Are the halls clean? Are there common areas for kids to gather? Same for the academic buildings
- Does the guide see a lot of people they know? Or is the place very "heads down" and glum?
- Do they feed you after the tour? Some schools do, some don't.
- Does the campus have a lot of franchise food outlets? Is that all of their food offerings?
- How many kids appear to be commuters? Is there a lounge for them? This affects how well commuters & residents integrate -- and there is some evidence that resident students have better outcomes than commuters.
- Can meeting rooms, study rooms, classrooms, and other spaces be used by anyone at any time, to encourage social groups and study groups? Some schools have a touchpad for every space, and students can book them online for small group work. It's also great if your roommate(s) are loud or constantly hooking up or smoking indoors. (One of my sons' schools offers this, and the kids get together for reviewing, test prep, movie watching, etc. It's a good alternative to binge drinking off-campus, too.)
- Is the library full of people, or dead? Have they evolved to offer study space, snacks, and other uses that keep kids working, and not grimly held the course on dusty booksBOOKSbooks?
- Is there a panel discussion with current students, and/or alumni? (This might be reserved for Accepted Students Day, later on.) It's a good indicator of the mood on campus, ability to get hired, etc.
- How many flyers are posted, and what's on them? Do they promote concerts or tutoring or political rallies -- and how does that fits your child's interests? What's in the current issue of the school newspaper?
- Every damn college now has a maker space and a new STEM building. What do the spaces for the humanities look like?
- How much of the college's budget appears to be spent on sports/gym facilities, versus social spaces, versus academic spaces, versus dorms? How much parking is there?
- What's the proximity to the nearest city -- and how often can you get a ride there? To the nearest Target/Walmart/grocery store/pharmacy?
- If your child has health needs (from an allergist to women's health), what's available in the area? Hit Google, and also scan the campus paper to see if any advertise.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:06 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
One more avenue to get comfortable with the process overall, and with a given school: post on social media and ask if anyone has a current or recent student that you can talk to. (Your child's current school might be able to put you in touch with someone, but tighter privacy laws may have scuttled that practice.)
Have them walk you around campus. Buy the kid coffee or lunch, and get them chatting. Shut up and let the kids talk! :7)
(We did this at Dartmouth after the official tour, and it was...eye-opening, to say the least.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:09 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
Have them walk you around campus. Buy the kid coffee or lunch, and get them chatting. Shut up and let the kids talk! :7)
(We did this at Dartmouth after the official tour, and it was...eye-opening, to say the least.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:09 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
All good advice here, and I'd just add that some things that are helpful (even if RIT is the # 1 choice right now) is to give your teen a variety of different types of schools to tour so they can think about whether they want an urban setting, a rural one, a big school, a small one, a place where all social life is on campus, whether sports/greek life/whatever is central to the social scene or whether there's an artsier vibe, etc. Your kid can get an excellent education at any number of schools, but helping them really visualize where they might feel the most comfortable or where they want to try living can often help make for a happier college experience.
posted by TwoStride at 6:11 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 6:11 AM on April 4 [5 favorites]
Does your kid's school have a college counselor? What are your kid's grades and (if they've taken them) test scores? What are you willing to pay and borrow for a college? Does your kid have a really strong interest in a career or hobby? Are they willing to go to school far away?
It's best to start visits once you've narrowed that all down (the counselor can help). Then just Google University Name Tour and that will be the easy part.
posted by kingdead at 6:38 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
It's best to start visits once you've narrowed that all down (the counselor can help). Then just Google University Name Tour and that will be the easy part.
posted by kingdead at 6:38 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
...and on the one hand, don't forget the state university system(s) wherever you are!
...but on the other hand, especially if The Teenager is a high achiever so far, don't necessarily let the sticker-price tuition scare you. The number you want to look at is "average net price" or, for places the kid is more firmly interested in, the guesstimator tool for financial aid that many schools provide. There are LOTS of private schools where the sticker price is the number they'd almost but not quite be too embarrassed to charge Bezos's kid, not a number they expect normal people to pay.
(bringing this up because a thousand years ago when I was in grad school at Dooooook one of the students in my TA section was from Virginia. So I asked I did "Why the hell are you here instead of UVa?" and she answered that after aid came through Doooooooook was cheaper)
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:38 AM on April 4 [3 favorites]
...but on the other hand, especially if The Teenager is a high achiever so far, don't necessarily let the sticker-price tuition scare you. The number you want to look at is "average net price" or, for places the kid is more firmly interested in, the guesstimator tool for financial aid that many schools provide. There are LOTS of private schools where the sticker price is the number they'd almost but not quite be too embarrassed to charge Bezos's kid, not a number they expect normal people to pay.
(bringing this up because a thousand years ago when I was in grad school at Dooooook one of the students in my TA section was from Virginia. So I asked I did "Why the hell are you here instead of UVa?" and she answered that after aid came through Doooooooook was cheaper)
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:38 AM on April 4 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Wow thank you everyone for all the advice and information!
My teenager knows exactly what he wants to study - computer science - and he's spent years and years doing his own independent projects because he's just that interested in the field. He has excellent grades at school and a whole lot of extracurriculars (robotics, scouts, ski club, Kung fu, trombone...). I'm not worried about his ability to do well in life. Even if he didn't go to college he'd be fine, honestly, because he's so self motivated and a complete autodidact. But he will go to college, so that part doesn't matter.
He doesn't know what school he wants to go to, other than "oooh MIT". RIT is just a "her we are in the area so we should look it up!" trip. He's going to be a junior soon, we gotta start knowing what college is all about. Scary times, y'all. I'm trying not to have a heart attack every time I look at my finances.
What you're all saying has already helped a LOT btw, because this is great, this isn't the high stress scenario I was picturing. I think I conflated campus visits with actual college interviews, somehow, in my head?? But listen, if you all have advice or books to recommend about this college process especially how to get and do interviews with admissions people, I'd love to hear it.
Thank you!!
posted by MiraK at 7:52 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
My teenager knows exactly what he wants to study - computer science - and he's spent years and years doing his own independent projects because he's just that interested in the field. He has excellent grades at school and a whole lot of extracurriculars (robotics, scouts, ski club, Kung fu, trombone...). I'm not worried about his ability to do well in life. Even if he didn't go to college he'd be fine, honestly, because he's so self motivated and a complete autodidact. But he will go to college, so that part doesn't matter.
He doesn't know what school he wants to go to, other than "oooh MIT". RIT is just a "her we are in the area so we should look it up!" trip. He's going to be a junior soon, we gotta start knowing what college is all about. Scary times, y'all. I'm trying not to have a heart attack every time I look at my finances.
What you're all saying has already helped a LOT btw, because this is great, this isn't the high stress scenario I was picturing. I think I conflated campus visits with actual college interviews, somehow, in my head?? But listen, if you all have advice or books to recommend about this college process especially how to get and do interviews with admissions people, I'd love to hear it.
Thank you!!
posted by MiraK at 7:52 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
My two teenage sons and I just completed two years of college research and took literally a dozen campus tours and they have now completed applications and been accepted to colleges (yay!) so, one, my sympathies are with you, and two, trust the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's advice: Don't Panic.
I'm not going to repeat all the great points above, but will say that from our experience, wannabecounselor, GCU and wenestvedt were spot-on. (Also, I was a campus tour guide in my day, and worked in communications at a small, premier liberal arts college, so I have some level of insider knowledge.)
Tours are easy to set up -- virtually every site lets you book them online. They'll take your name to track your level of interest during the application process, but not once on our tours (which included two Ivies and a half-dozen near-Ivies) did a guide or admissions staffer take notes on us or even know our names.
In one way, tours are a bit like a magician's act -- the patter is a distraction from what you really should being paying attention to. That's a bit unfair; the tour guide will give you useful info, but they're essentially salesmen. Watch the regular students moving about the campus -- are they talking with each other, laughing, happy? The many people who said "vibe check" are spot-on. Also, once you have a tour date, your kid might want to reach out to a professor directly and say, hey, I'm interested in studying (your field) at college and I'll be touring on (date). Could I meet with you or a colleague? We didn't do that, but my niece did at Vanderbilt. And was admitted and attended.
Happy to chat more via MeMail, just send a note.
posted by martin q blank at 7:55 AM on April 4 [3 favorites]
I'm not going to repeat all the great points above, but will say that from our experience, wannabecounselor, GCU and wenestvedt were spot-on. (Also, I was a campus tour guide in my day, and worked in communications at a small, premier liberal arts college, so I have some level of insider knowledge.)
Tours are easy to set up -- virtually every site lets you book them online. They'll take your name to track your level of interest during the application process, but not once on our tours (which included two Ivies and a half-dozen near-Ivies) did a guide or admissions staffer take notes on us or even know our names.
In one way, tours are a bit like a magician's act -- the patter is a distraction from what you really should being paying attention to. That's a bit unfair; the tour guide will give you useful info, but they're essentially salesmen. Watch the regular students moving about the campus -- are they talking with each other, laughing, happy? The many people who said "vibe check" are spot-on. Also, once you have a tour date, your kid might want to reach out to a professor directly and say, hey, I'm interested in studying (your field) at college and I'll be touring on (date). Could I meet with you or a colleague? We didn't do that, but my niece did at Vanderbilt. And was admitted and attended.
Happy to chat more via MeMail, just send a note.
posted by martin q blank at 7:55 AM on April 4 [3 favorites]
I don't have anything to add to all the great advice upthread but my son did indeed attend and graduate from the University of Rochester (compsci major), and my daughter's BFF (basically my second daughter LOL) attended and graduated from RIT. If you'd like some general thoughts about both schools and Rochester in general, I'd be happy to chat. I'm also really happy to chat about the college applications/admissions process.
Send me a MeFiMail!
posted by cooker girl at 8:16 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
Send me a MeFiMail!
posted by cooker girl at 8:16 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
Hey, RIT is a great school: lot of technical programs. He'll have good opportunities there. (My old boss is an alum!)
A little further east is Worcester Polytechnic Institute (in Worcester, Mass.), where several friends have kids attending. They actually make an effort to get their students to study abroad, which is pretty unique in technical degree fields.
For that and other reasons, WPI is a cool school, and Woo is a much better city than it was 20 years ago.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:36 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
A little further east is Worcester Polytechnic Institute (in Worcester, Mass.), where several friends have kids attending. They actually make an effort to get their students to study abroad, which is pretty unique in technical degree fields.
For that and other reasons, WPI is a cool school, and Woo is a much better city than it was 20 years ago.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:36 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
Have they evolved to offer study space, snacks, and other uses that keep kids working, and not grimly held the course on dusty booksBOOKSbooks?
I largely agree these are useful questions, but I'd like to flip this one a bit. I'm not saying all libraries need to be 100% stacks and reading rooms, but when last wandering about UM(ich)'s campus, I was struck by how hard it was to find a place to just sit quietly and think. Like, they'd gutted those floors in the undergrad library for maker stuff. This strikes me as incredibly short-sighted. Where can your kid go if they just want to read/work on a problem set in peace?
posted by praemunire at 8:42 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
I largely agree these are useful questions, but I'd like to flip this one a bit. I'm not saying all libraries need to be 100% stacks and reading rooms, but when last wandering about UM(ich)'s campus, I was struck by how hard it was to find a place to just sit quietly and think. Like, they'd gutted those floors in the undergrad library for maker stuff. This strikes me as incredibly short-sighted. Where can your kid go if they just want to read/work on a problem set in peace?
posted by praemunire at 8:42 AM on April 4 [2 favorites]
I have 2 kids in American colleges right now. I think the greatest value in a college tour isn't revealing whether a particular college is right or wrong for your kid. Even though a tour might demonstrate that, it's not realistic for your kid to tour every single college in America before applying. It might not even be realistic to visit a particular school before applying there (you can still tour colleges after you've been admitted if you're trying to decide which school's offer to accept).
Also, consider the joke about college tours that any school you visit when it's sunny and warm out, when kids are lounging in the quad, is the school your kid will want to attend -- in other words, your student's perception of a college after a tour might not be perfectly objective.
I think of college tours as really helpful in helping your kid eliminate entire categories of colleges from consideration. A tour of 4-6 different schools can help your kid decide what combination of school and setting he'll thrive in: big school vs small school, research university vs liberal arts college, rural setting vs. college town vs. big city vs. suburb.
posted by hhc5 at 12:00 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
Also, consider the joke about college tours that any school you visit when it's sunny and warm out, when kids are lounging in the quad, is the school your kid will want to attend -- in other words, your student's perception of a college after a tour might not be perfectly objective.
I think of college tours as really helpful in helping your kid eliminate entire categories of colleges from consideration. A tour of 4-6 different schools can help your kid decide what combination of school and setting he'll thrive in: big school vs small school, research university vs liberal arts college, rural setting vs. college town vs. big city vs. suburb.
posted by hhc5 at 12:00 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
I had an aspiring engineer - mechanical rather than computer - and toured RIT, Stevens Institute of Technology in North Jersey, WPI mentioned above, Olin College of engineering (fascinating approach, it's only undergrad so no teaching by grad students rather than the professors) and my alma mater Alfred University. I was a ceramics student, but they have the best ceramics/glass engineering program probably in the world. They have satellite engineering programs also, mechanical, electrical, computer. The thing that he loved about Alfred was that when he requested a meeting with a member of the engineering faculty (requested ahead of time, not on the day we toured) he was offered a meeting with a full professor of glass engineering, who fascinated us both when my son asked about the professor's area of research and he launched into a fascinating explanation of how dissolvable glass nanospheres holding chemotherapy could be floated through the blood vessels into the site of liver tumors. He was working on this project at the time. We went straight back to Admissions and accepted the admission offer. He was later contacted by Admissions, which said that the professor had been impressed by my son's questions and understanding of the engineering issues, and he was offered a partial scholarship.
So you should feel free to ask to speak to a professor!
Most of the other tours we took were pretty bland and cattle-call large, including RIT. Stevens was interesting, Olin was interesting but so highly competitive he didn't think he'd 1)be admitted and 2) enjoy it, but in the end he stuck with Alfred, is now a grad and is gainfully employed as a mechanical engineer in a high-tech glass-adjacent company.
posted by citygirl at 2:35 PM on April 4 [4 favorites]
So you should feel free to ask to speak to a professor!
Most of the other tours we took were pretty bland and cattle-call large, including RIT. Stevens was interesting, Olin was interesting but so highly competitive he didn't think he'd 1)be admitted and 2) enjoy it, but in the end he stuck with Alfred, is now a grad and is gainfully employed as a mechanical engineer in a high-tech glass-adjacent company.
posted by citygirl at 2:35 PM on April 4 [4 favorites]
For comp sci specifically, I'd indeed want to sit in on a class for a vibe check. There are still antediluvian CS departments that operate along "make 'em miserable to weed most of 'em out" lines, and I don't want that for your kid (who sounds awesome). There are also places whose CS student body lives by toxic-white-masculinity norms (the same nasty cruel agonistic norms that almost got all of us hacked), and that ain't great either.
Might also be worth asking about the language they teach in entry-level courses. Any variant of C is a giant waving THIS PLACE IS ANTEDILUVIAN flag. (C or variant a bit later on is totally fine. Just for pity's sake don't spring it on freshmen.) Java's okay (much though I personally hate it), but Python can be a sign of a more progressive and inclusive department.
CS departments differ in how hard it is to declare the major, but I don't think that's going to be a huge issue for your kid.
posted by humbug at 7:14 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
Might also be worth asking about the language they teach in entry-level courses. Any variant of C is a giant waving THIS PLACE IS ANTEDILUVIAN flag. (C or variant a bit later on is totally fine. Just for pity's sake don't spring it on freshmen.) Java's okay (much though I personally hate it), but Python can be a sign of a more progressive and inclusive department.
CS departments differ in how hard it is to declare the major, but I don't think that's going to be a huge issue for your kid.
posted by humbug at 7:14 PM on April 4 [2 favorites]
Something else that may ease your anxiety: higher education is facing a student shortage due to demographic dips. Most institutions want your kid to go there. They won’t abandon their standards, if they are any good, but, like wild animals, they are at least as worried about you as you are about them, and less likely to attack or even be mean. They want your kid there.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:26 PM on April 5 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:26 PM on April 5 [2 favorites]
The "demographic cliff" hits in like two years -- but yeah, colleges are well aware of it, and I believe that financial aid awards (if the FAFSA SNAFU doesn't screw them up completely) should start to reflect that.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:27 AM on April 8
posted by wenestvedt at 8:27 AM on April 8
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posted by MiraK at 5:53 PM on April 3