Peter Cruickshank

Overview of College Visits   

 

          One of the most important steps in the college process is finding colleges that best suit you. College enrollment is an individualized process, one that gives you the option of picking the school of your choice (one which you can picture will best fit your needs and interests). While picking a school to study sounds like an easy and simple task at first, things can get very difficult down the line. When narrowing down schools, it can become challenging to pick one school over the other. When in the spring you get accepted to your three favorite schools, how will you be sure which one you will feel most comfortable in? The best way to determine which school is right for you (and which to remove from your list) is to take a college tour. Taking a tour around a campus can give you a good sense whether a college is truly right for you or not. You must always put your best foot forward and attempt to jump at any opportunity for a tour of colleges you love.

         I took a college boot camp class  for the summer and was given the opportunity to visit three different schools. Although I was unfamiliar with some of the schools offering tours, I still chose to attend them to see what the various colleges had to offer its students.  The three schools I visited were St. Peter’s University, Drew, and Sarah Lawrence College. While these colleges may share similar majors and athletics, these schools are far from being the same. On each tour, all of the colleges presented themselves differently. Each college had something special about them, things which made them stand out from each other.

Here are a few things that caught my attention during my various trips:

●       Each of the colleges had very small class sizes

Saint Peters University

●       SPU’s new student center looked amazing. There were six floors each containing something different such as a large exercise area or a floor just for hot meals.

●       Unlike the other 2 schools, SPU is located right into the city, something that may pose an issue to students (who haven’t experienced life in the city) with the desire to live in campus.

Drew

●       One of the largest of the 3 colleges, reaching over 170 acres. Provides to its students many buildings some of which are dedicated to the arts.

Sarah Lawrence

●       Unlike other colleges, Sarah Lawrence has its own special curriculum. Instead of majors, your classes are formed solely on what you are interested in.

●        This college felt to me as a good fit for people who are undecided in their future careers.

            After my experience visiting these various colleges, I’ve learned that colleges truly do not disappoint. All three of these colleges are wonderful schools which can help students excel academically. While these colleges may not be right for you, a tour can really shape what you know about the college you’re applying to. It can even be the deciding factor for any lingering doubts you may have in going to a school. There are thousands of schools out there, each presenting several different opportunities for both you and other students. You must make sure that in your search for colleges you pick the ones which you absolutely love, and simply taking a single tour can really make a difference.