Spring is here so you know what that means – COLLEGE TOURS. Here are some important Do’s and Don’t’s to keep in mind while wandering your favorite campuses

Your College Counseling Team

DO Ask about your tour guides personal experiences, favorite classes and why your guide decided upon the college over others.

DON'T Ask questions you can learn from the website. You have a real, live college student there, who attends the school you’re thinking about. Why not ask them something worth knowing about, rather than a statistic they’ve memorized from the website? You can always look that information up later.

DO Ask questions about the amounts of debt that school’s graduates typically owe and the school’s job placement rate.

DON'T Ask personal questions regarding your tour guide’s financial aid situation or your own.

DO Ask questions about the amounts of debt that school’s graduates typically owe and the school’s job placement rate. If you decide to attend the school, you will likely become one of these statistics in the future!

DON’T Count the school out because you dislike your tour guide. 

DO Make the best of your tour by asking thought-provoking and insightful questions!

DO plan ahead. Check the school’s web site for dates of tours and information sessions and to find out if reservations are required and when these events are available. Some schools do not offer tours during semester breaks and some admissions offices will close during holiday breaks.

DON’T expect a visit to campus when classes are not in session to provide the same options or experience as visiting during the regular semester schedule for any particular school.

DO remember that the logistics of getting to the college have nothing to do with what you will experience once you arrive and begin to explore life on that campus.

DON’T forget to ask questions and make notes about each school you visit. Take a notebook with you or use our college visit evaluation form to keep track of where you’ve been and what you thought of each school you visited. It’s free–print as many as you need.

DO ask questions on tours, you may be the only one. The guides encourage questions but for some reason, kids did not ask any. Do ask.

Happy Touring!