While the best time to visit a college is when school is in session, summer college visits are valuable, too. For many students, this is the most opportune time for their family’s schedules. Here is what to expect.
It is quite likely that there will be very few students on campus. In a summer visit, you are going to meet the admission officers, learn about the college’s admission statistics, tour the facilities, and see the town. You will probably not be able to sit in on a class, meet many students, do much people watching, or spend the night on campus. Dining services may not be open or may have very limited hours. Even if summer school is in session, know that the population of the summer programs is not representative of the population of the fall and spring sessions.
So is the summer visit worth doing? I still say, “Yes!”
It is still a chance to check out the campus and perhaps decide if you want to return for a second visit. It is also good to listen carefully to the admission presentation and determine if this college would be a reach, reasonable, or likely fit, given your own current grade point average, test scores, and personal qualities. Also, in the process of visiting, you will see how far a college is away from home, the ease of getting there, and other travel concerns.
If your parents are unable to travel with you in the summer, or if they would rather visit with you while school is in session, there are visit options for students only.
A tour company with which the College Guidance Office is familiar is College Visits. This company hosts bus tours of colleges for high school students in various regions throughout the summer. You fly to the starting city, and College Visits takes care of everything else from there, including meals, lodging, and campus tours. Click here to visit the company's website.
Campus tours are the very best thing you can do to find the college that is the right fit for you. So whether you tour during the school year or during the summer, get out there! Take a tour!
