Summer Campus Visits

At our state conference last month I had the pleasure of hearing Jay Mathews from the Washington Post speak. He was very amusing, somewhat thought provoking, and definitely entertaining. Upon returning to the office I realized that I had actually printed up one of his recent articles to read prior to leaving for the conference. I have a habit of printing and printing, and reading at a much later date. The short article College Campus Visit: Keep it Simple, Make it Fun was very similar to the speech he gave at the conference, amusing, somewhat thought provoking, and definitely entertaining. Here's some of Jay's advice on the campus visit that I enjoy:

Applying to college is stressful enough without every step in the process requiring a clipboard. The average family visit occurs when we are on vacation, for pity's sake. Why can't we treat the day like a pleasant stop at a well-known tourist attraction, full of history and intriguing architecture and maybe even free snacks?

Why, in other words, can't we have fun? The more I think about the standard advice to record every iota of information, the more ridiculous it seems.

Some of my tips if you are going to visit campuses during the summer:

1 - Visit in the morning (the first tour possible) - who will enjoy a visit on a scorching hot day?

2 - After the tour, enjoy the air conditioned reception/visit area, grab some water and relax with some students.

3 - Request to have lunch on campus - some schools will treat. It is a great chance to get a free meal and sample the food that you might be eating in future

4 - Tie your visits into vacation, it makes them less stressful, less business like

5 - Hydrate and use sunscreen

6 - Summer visits are for weeding schools out, not to decide on a #1, those decisions can only be made with a fall or spring visits when campuses are alive and you can talk with professors, sit in on classes, and spend more time on campus

Good luck!