Today I went on a college tour. As this was for my 4th and youngest child, I have lost count of how many college tours I have been on. I realized something as I sat listening this morning – all of the “welcome to this school” talks are almost identical. All admission officers say the same things. If all you did was listen to that part of the tour, you could not tell where you were. So for anyone embarking on a similar endeavor, I have listed a few questions you might want to ask yourself about a school your son or daughter is thinking about attending.
1. If it is a small school, does the community support it? Is it truly a college town?
2. How many students continue to live on campus past the first year?
3. What is dorm life like?
4. How is the food?
5. What percentage of students study abroad?
6. How many states or countries are represented in the student body?
7. What percentage of students participate in Greek life?
8. What clubs are on campus? Intramural sports?
9. Is there an honor system?
10. Are classes taught by professors only or teaching assistants?
11. Finally, google Successful “school of choice” graduates to see if there are any highly successful or famous graduates. Schools will always say that their stats are great. This morning they said that 97% of last year’s grads were employed, in grad school, or volunteering or doing other useful activities! What does that mean?
