Getting off the Beaten Track on College Visits

If you are making a return visit to a college or visiting for the first time after being admitted, make sure you get off the beaten path  -- that is, do some exploring past the official information session and tour.  Hang out at the student union, visit the study spaces in the library, or browse in the bookstore, grab lunch at a campus cafeteria, arrange to sit in on a class or meet with a professor. And ask questions of everyone. You may be surprised at how willing students are to speak candidly with you. Here are some questions to ask:

                Why did you decide to go to school here?

                What's a typical student like?

                Are professors accessible? How do you spend time with faculty outside the classroom?

                What do students do on the weekends here?

                Who fits in here and who doesn’t?

                How hard is it to get the classes you need?

                What was your biggest surprise about going to school here?

                What was your freshman year like? How difficult was the transition?

And, once you're in, the question you're asking yourself is no longer prefaced by "If I get in..." Instead, it's "I can go here if I want. Is this the right place for me?"