College visits have become more important today than they ever were in the past. Competition for that coveted admission spot and the competitiveness of the colleges vying for students makes the college visit a key factor in a student’s decision and a college’s recruiting efforts. College visits are the “bread and butter” of the admissions process and if you have a college-bound tween or teen, it’s time to get into the game.
Continue reading Making College Visits a Family Affair
These are simply informal college visits that include a walk around campus, a visit to the school library, or a stroll through the campus bookstore. It’s easy to fit a brief college tour into your family spring vacation.
Why, however, should you consider doing this?
It’s a proven fact that picking a college is an emotional choice. Yes, students evaluate colleges based on academics, but mostly their choice is based on a “feeling.” By making preliminary college visits, students get a feel for the college environment, the buildings, the layout, the students and everything that makes a college. It helps to prepare students for junior year when they start touring must-see colleges on their college lists.
Believe it or not, the look and the surrounding environment of a campus is important to most students. Does your student favor a sprawling campus with hills and historic buildings or a bustling campus in the middle of a large metropolitan area? Is the idea of a smaller campus interesting? Or is your student craving the excitement a large state university campus? Students can’t know the answer to any of these questions without visiting different types of campuses.
There’s nothing like watching students congregate on the green space for an impromptu game of football. Or seeing students walking between classes having discussions and getting to know one another. Or piling into the dining hall for a meal and some conversation. The list goes on and on. You can’t get that experience by viewing a website or looking at a brochure. You only get it by visiting a campus in person.
To read more reasons why preliminary visits make sense for your freshman or sophomore student, you can read my original article here at TeenLife Magazine: Why Freshmen and Sophomores Should Visit College Campuses.
Families often use summer vacations to start the college visit process, take a quick walking tour, and begin to formulate a college list. If you’re a parent of a college-bound teen and visited a college campus, you have undoubtedly heard these words: “it just doesn’t feel right”. Before you say, “that’s ridiculous”, take a deep breath and think about their response. What are they really saying?
College, for most students, is scary. They will be leaving home for the first time, on their own, and entering an unfamiliar environment. Driving onto a campus makes it real. Anxiety is a reasonable response.
College is just another environment with other kids and the possibility of not fitting in with other students weighs heavy on their mind. However, one of the important facets of the college visit is to hang out with other students and learn about the campus culture. Be sensitive to this concern.
Most students envision beautiful buildings, lavish student union spaces and gorgeous dorms. If the college you are visiting is not what they envisioned, help your student look past the external and remind them academics should be at the top of the list. But remember that first impressions weigh heavy on their decision and even though they might say, “ok”, they may be crossing it off their list.
The cold hard truth is that those “feelings” are sometimes justified, often irrational, and perfectly normal. Nancy Berk, in her book College Bound and Gagged, sums it up:
So what’s the solution [to their anxiety]? The easiest one is to respect the illogical teen refusal. After all, some claim if he is miserable at first sight, he will be miserable for four years if you force the issue. Do I agree? No, but have you ever tried to pull a 6 foot tall 17-year old out of a parked car and make him follow you around campus? This is when gentle threats, reasonable bribes, and guilt (“Do something for me for a change!”) come in handy.
Preparing for those moments of vocal, outward resistance will help you deal with this type of behavior. And when all else fails, give them some time to ponder their decision and help them see that multiple visits, even if they aren’t “feeling” it, will help them make the final college decision. Or, as Nancy says, resort to bribery.
P.S. For more parent tips about the college admissions process, check out Zinch’s High School Blog, and click on the For Parents tab at the top of the page.