College visit season should be kicking off now for
most juniors. Colleges are in session for only 2 more months, and it is best to
visit while students are still on campus. As I have mentioned before, college
visits (if possible) are one of the most important parts on the entire search
process. Student cannot duplicate the experience of walking the campus, sitting
in classrooms, eating the cafeteria food, and much more other than actually
making the trip to potential colleges and universities. Most people would never
think about buying a car without seeing it, taking it for a test drive, and
asking the dealership questions. So if you wouldn't do this with a car, why
would you even think about doing it with a college?
So it is obviously very important to see the schools
first-hand, but make sure you have questions ready to go for admissions
counselors, professors, and students…yes even current students! One of the best
things you can do while visiting a school is to walk up to a random student and
ask them about their school. Most students are happy to talk about their
college, and those who aren't may be just as important, as it could be a bad
sign about that school.
With all of this said, take a look at the following sample
of questions you may want to ask when visiting a school:
·
What is the freshmen-sophomore retention
rate?
·
What is the on-time graduation rate?
·
What is the job placement/graduate
school admission percentage?
·
If applicable, what percent of student
who apply, are accepted into medical school?
·
What percent of financial need is met
for students?
·
Is housing guaranteed for all four
years?
·
What percent of students commute?
·
Do you have campus police/patrol?
·
How is the food selection? How are the
living quarters?
·
Is there a core curriculum? If so, what
is it?
·
Do you have study abroad opportunities?
·
What do students do on the weekend?
·
What tutoring opportunities does your
school offer?
·
What is the student to professor ratio?
·
Could you tell me some features of the school
that makes it unique?
·
What percent of students are accepted
from Early Action/ Early Decision?
-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA