Five
Tips for Planning a Trip
Below
are some tips on how to plan the trips
effectively and what you can do while you are
there. We used Boston University as an
example.
Review
the Academic Calendar. All schools
have a link to their academic calendar online.
It is a good idea to review this first to make
sure that classes are in session so you will be
able to see students when you visit. You will
usually find this on the college's home page. If
it is not immediately apparent, search academic
calendar and you should find the link. Click here for BU's academic
calendar.
Identify
Your Options. Most schools offer a
campus tour and information session, however,
many others will also allow you to sit in a
class, have lunch with a student, or take a tour
of a specific school. Many schools also have
open houses during the spring. It is important
to identify what you would like to do beforehand
to determine timing of a school. It is feasible
to see two schools per day if you plan
accordingly as most schools offer a morning and
afternoon information session and tour. If,
however, a particular school is high on your
list and you would like to take advantage of the
other visiting options, than, it will be harder
to fit everything in. Click here for BU's Admissions
page.
As
you can see at Boston University there are
numerous options:
- Campus
Tour
- Extended
Campus Tour
- Information
Session
- Lunch
with a Student
- Visit
a particular school, e.g. Fine Arts, Business,
etc.
- Visit
a Class
- Special
needs
Determine
Your Needs. Are you an athlete?
Actor? Artist? Musician? Do you need extra
support because of a learning difference? If so,
then you will want to schedule appointments with
the appropriate faculty and staff to determine
if the school is a good fit in those realms as
well. For athletes at DIII schools,
you can contact the coach and let him or her
know that you are planning a visit and would
like to stop by. For DI schools, recruited
athletes are invited to visit as part of an
"official visit" by the coach. For performing
and visual artists, it is a good idea to
schedule a meeting with a particular professor
or school in advance. If you have a learning
difference, it is helpful to stop by the office
of academic support and see if you feel
comfortable with the environment.
Make
a Reservation. Some schools allow
you to just show up, but others require a
reservation and party count. Go to the school's
website and click on Admissions. Under
admissions, there is usually a link to "Visit
the school." Click here for BU's 'Schedule Your
Visit' page.
Plan
the Trip. One of our favorite
college visit planning tools is the AAA Triptik.
Click here for the triptik
website.
You
can enter a destination by the name of the
college or university and it will provide a
driving route. You can easily change the order
of schools if your plans change.
Click
here for an example of visiting University of
Connecticut, Boston University and then
Tufts. Sample
triptik
