Arbor View High School Counseling

In becoming acquainted with a college, the most important thing you can do is visit the campus. Here are some tips to follow when visiting a college:

• Call the admissions office before you plan to visit, give two weeks’ notice.
• Campus tours should always be free and you can sometimes even arrange for an overnight stay. A tour should include a look at the facilities (e.g. dormitories, cafeteria, athletic facilities, library).
• If a personal interview is offered, take advantage of this!
• After the information session and campus tour, venture out on your own: talk to students, have lunch, walk around, etc.
• Research the school beforehand and generate questions to ask that are not answered in the catalogs.
• Most of all, ask yourself: “Can I picture myself at this school for four years?”

The following questions are just a sampling of the many questions a perspective student might ask when touring a college. Take advantage of the knowledge your tour guide possesses - that is the reason he/she is there!

• Do you accept AP credits?
• On average, how large are classes?
• How helpful is the faculty? Do they make themselves available to provide extra help? Are they instructors or are they graduate students?
• Are tutors available? If so, are the sessions at my expense?
• What are the computer resources? E.g. Number of terminals, hours of availability, etc. May I have a computer in my dorm?
• Are internships/co-ops available? Can I receive credit for them?
• What kinds of work study (jobs on campus) are available?
• Are there study-abroad programs? If so, where?
• What is the job placement like for students who graduated with my intended major?
• Does the college sponsor an overnight program? (A current student serves as a host/hostess for a prospective student, giving him/her the opportunity to experience the dorms, dining hall, classrooms and social life of the college.)
• Is housing guaranteed for all four (two) years?
• What type of alternative housing is available (e.g. quiet dorms)?
• How are roommates chosen freshman year?
• Are most room’s doubles, triples? Are singles available?
• What is the process of selecting a room after freshman year?
• What are dorm visitation procedures?
• What percentage of the students are commuter/resident?
• Is this a "suitcase" college? (Do students pack up and leave on weekends?)
• What is the policy for students possessing cars? Can freshman have them?

 

If you can’t visit the college in person than you might want to check out these virtual tour websites.

• Cam­pus Vir­tual Tours — Vir­tual tours of col­lege campus.

• Col­lege Week Live-Virtual Col­lege Fair –Inter­act with col­lege admis­sions rep­re­sen­ta­tives on-line.

• Your Cam­pus 360 — A walk­ing vir­tual tour of a col­lege campus.

• YOUni­veristy — Vir­tual col­lege video tours, stu­dents’ inter­views about campus.

•  Vir­tual Cam­pus Tours: Tour the Cam­pus of 25 Top Col­leges and Universities