Saturday, June 13, 2020

Spring Break College Visit Guide

Spring Break College Visit Guide by: Laurie Martin on April 05, 2016 | 1 Comment Comments 335 Views April 5, 2016Spring Break is here! For some, this might be time to visit grandparents, head to an  adventurous destination or relax on the beach. However, for high school juniors,  now is the perfect time to consider visiting colleges on your short list.  Visiting a college in person gives you special insight into what attending that school  will be like for you. It is information that is difficult to gain in any other way. If you  are seriously considering a school, then you want to make the trip to visit the  campus in-person. There are some key tips to remember as you plan your visit.1. Make Sure Their Class Is In SessionCampus with and without students can feel like two different places. It is much  more difficult to get a sense of the culture when visiting a college on their break.  Try to avoid spring and summer breaks when you can. For example, one of my   clients visited a few colleges over her December break and the campus was a  ghost town. I helped her set up a visit schedule for this spring which provided  her a much more realistic view of the university—she was even able to speak  with a professor in the biology department (which is her subject of interest).If summer is the only time you are able to go, aim for June or August when  summer programs or athletics bring students back to campus—some schools  even have summer sessions. Align your visit with busy times and avoid holidays  like spring break. These dates are maps out in advance on the schools’ website  usually under â€Å"academic calendar.†Harvard Spring Break: March 12, 2016 to March 20, 2016Yale Spring Break: March 11 to March 28Princeton Spring Break: March 12 to March 20MIT Spring Break: March 21 to March 25Columbia Spring Break: March 14 to March 18NYU Spring Break: March 14 to March 202. Make Sure Your Class Is Not In Sess ionDo your best to avoid missing school in order to visit colleges. Some high schools  give students certain special days off to go on visits. It thats not your case, use your spring  break and three-day weekends. Or do whatever you can to plan your visit and  get schoolwork finished in advance. Remember, the highest GPA possible is one  of the most important components of a successful college application.3. Go for Three!At each school you visit you will want to attend both the campus tour and the  info session put on by admissions. Additionally, try to attend a class or part of a  class whenever possible. Usually contacting the admissions office by phone or  email before you go will allow you to set all of this up ahead of time. I  recommend getting in touch with departments of interest as well—some may  offer you specific departmental tours or the chance to converse with a professor.  Also, don’t forget to eat in the cafeteria or dining hall if at all possible. If that is  not an option, the student center or nearby food options are important to check  out while you are there.Write down notes as you go along and use your phone to take photos and video—you  won’t be able to remember anything by the end of a visit weekend. You may  want to note names of your tour guides or admissions officers for thank you  notes or emails as well. One of my more recent clients discussed his MIT tour  and the inspirational feeling the experience gave him in one of his admissions  essays. As we set up the structurethe more details he was able to reference, the  better the essay sounded.4. Stay FocusedChoose one geographical area at a time to visit—so if you are using a long  weekend and for example, traveling to Boston you should see three or four schools within  that city. Try to visit no more than two schools per day, or you will become  overwhelmed and the details of each will begin to run together in your mind. I  advise my clients at Stratus Prep to bring me their lists ahead of time so we can  organize them geographically and according to their interests—I also usually  add in a school in the area they may have overlooked. This way their visits are  the most efficient and effectual they can possibly be considering the college  process is packed with student obligations and they are often being pulled in  many different directions.5. Think it overOnce the visiting is finished reexamine the notes and your thoughts from each  school. I make a chart with my Stratus Prep clients—in order to compare  different positives and negatives from each visit. This will help you to synthesize  the information you gained from the visit and give you a new perspective or at  least a more informed view of the schools on your list. Even if you can’t visit in-person, many colleges have virtual tours to help give you a feel for the campus  and you can ta lk online or over the phone with current students via the  admissions office. Don’t apply to a school you haven’t experienced in at least  some way.Laurie Martin of Stratus PrepRemember, research and information set you up for a successful fit and the school  that’s best for you! Do you have questions about planning your campus visit or your  college applications? Get in touch at info@stratusprep.comLaurie Martin is the director of Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions Consulting at  Stratus Prep.DONT MISS: THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ON ELITE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS Page 1 of 11

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