Those moments of insight don’t always come easy to prospective students. But the campus visit has become a rite of passage for applicants. Tours and informal wanderings can offer all sorts of cues: about the social scene or fashion code, about architecture or food, and of course about the weather. It’s unscientific, to be sure. Yet it gives impressions any decision may rest on. And for the dedicated investigator, attending classes, taking the formal campus tour, staying overnight in a dorm and just hanging out–all these can do much to inoculate a freshman against the buyer’s remorse that occasionally sets in every September.
A good place to start any visit is the college-admissions office, where a counsel-or can briefly summarize a school’s high points and its entrance process. Campus tours led by student guides are often part of these sessions. Ask specific, thoughtful questions that no brochure or Web site is likely to cover. But don’t make the mistake of equating one particular volunteer with a school’s ethos. Students are different: you may get one you like or detest.
For some, the tour is enough to eliminate a potential school. If a school survives, try walking off the beaten track to visit classes (make sure to ask about the college’s policy on it), cafeterias and libraries. One NEWSWEEK parent dispatched his son to MIT’s famed Media Lab. By interviewing professors themselves, he not only determined that MIT was for him, but he created a little buzz that impressed the admissions committee. He was accepted.
Overnight stays are an especially effective tool. Admissions offices are usually willing to pair up prospective students with freshmen. Away from the watchful eye of parents, it’s much easier to get a sense of what students are really like. Do the kegs come out as soon as classes end? Are there interesting students hanging out in the dorm lounge debating the meaning of life? Either occurrence could be a random event. And neither one might be for you. But it’s useful information along the way to making a final, informed choice.
