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 anà adventurous destination or relax on the beach. However, for high school juniors,à now is the perfect time to consider visiting colleges on your short list.à Visiting a college in person gives you special insight into what attending that schoolà will be like for you. It is information that is difficult to gain in any other way. If youà are seriously considering a school, then you want to make the trip to visit theà 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 muchà more difficult to get a sense of the culture when visiting a college on their break.à Try to avoid spring and summer breaks when you can. For example, one of myà clients visited a few colleges over her December break and the campus was aà ghost town. I helped her set up a visit schedule for this spring which providedà her a much more realistic view of the universityââ¬âshe was even able to speakà 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 whenà summer programs or athletics bring students back to campusââ¬âsome schoolsà even have summer sessions. Align your visit with busy times and avoid holidaysà like spring break. These dates are maps out in advance on the schoolsââ¬â¢ websiteà usually under ââ¬Å"academic calendar.â⬠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 schoolsà give students certain special days off to go on visits. It thats not your case, use your springà break and three-day weekends. Or do whatever you can to plan your visit andà get schoolwork finished in advance. Remember, the highest GPA possible is oneà 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 theà info session put on by admissions. Additionally, try to attend a class or part of aà class whenever possible. Usually contacting the admissions office by phone orà email before you go will allow you to set all of this up ahead of time. Ià recommend getting in touch with departments of interest as wellââ¬âsome mayà offer you specific departmental tours or the chance to converse with a professor.à Also, donââ¬â¢t forget to eat in the cafeteria or dining hall if at all possible. If that isà not an option, the student center or nearby food options are important to checkà out while you are there.Write down notes as you go along and use your phone to take photos and videoââ¬âyouà wonââ¬â¢t be able to remember anything by the end of a visit weekend. You mayà want to note names of your tour guides or admissions officers for thank youà notes or emails as well. One of my more recent clients discussed his MIT tourà and the inspirational feeling the experience gave him in one of his admissionsà essays. As we set up the structurethe more details he was able to reference, theà better the essay sounded.4. Stay FocusedChoose one geographical area at a time to visitââ¬âso if you are using a longà weekend and for example, traveling to Boston you should see three or four schools withinà that city. Try to visit no more than two schools per day, or you will becomeà overwhelmed and the details of each will begin to run together in your mind. Ià advise my clients at Stratus Prep to bring me their lists ahead of time so we canà organize them geographically and according to their interestsââ¬âI also usuallyà add in a school in the area they may have overlooked. This way their visits areà the most efficient and effectual they can possibly be considering the collegeà process is packed with student obligations and they are often being pulled inà many different directions.5. Think it overOnce the visiting is finished reexamine the notes and your thoughts from eachà school. I make a chart with my Stratus Prep clientsââ¬âin order to compareà different positives and negatives from each visit. This will help you to synthesizeà the information you gained from the visit and give you a new perspective or atà least a more informed view of the schools on your list. Even if you canââ¬â¢t visit in-person, many colleges have virtual tours to help give you a feel for the campusà and you can ta lk online or over the phone with current students via theà admissions office. Donââ¬â¢t apply to a school you havenââ¬â¢t experienced in at leastà some way.Laurie Martin of Stratus PrepRemember, research and information set you up for a successful fit and the schoolà thatââ¬â¢s best for you! Do you have questions about planning your campus visit or yourà college applications? Get in touch at info@stratusprep.comLaurie Martin is the director of Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions Consulting atà Stratus Prep.DONT MISS: THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ON ELITE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS Page 1 of 11
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