Top 3 reasons to go on a college visit

When we started looking at colleges a few years ago, I didn't really appreciate how much time and money it would take to visit schools. To make our college visits count, we did a ton of research and found some awesome tips. If you're wondering if visiting a college before applying is even worth it, I want to share what I learned from articles, books, talks with college advisors, our own campus tours, and chats with other families going through the college application process.

TL;DR;

Here are the three key reasons why I think checking out colleges before you apply is a game-changer. The last one, I think, is the most important! I'll explain more and share links further below.

• Show You're Interested: Some colleges keep track of who visits and use it when they decide who to accept. Plus, visits give you cool, unique details for your essays that you just can't find on Google.
• Find Your Vibe: That "feeling" or "energy" of a school? You can only really get it by being there in person when students are around.
• Discover Yourself: Visiting campuses helps you figure out what you like and don't like, which helps you narrow down what you're looking for in a college. Your ideas can (and should!) change as you learn more.

Show You're Interested

Some colleges care if you show you're interested when they're reviewing applications. Colleges are all competing to be selective, so they also pay attention to something called their "yield" rate. This is the percentage of accepted students who actually decide to go there. To keep their yield rate up, colleges want to know how likely you are to say "yes" if they offer you a spot, especially since you're probably looking at a bunch of similar schools.

To see if a college cares about "demonstrated interest," look for their Common Data Set (just search the school's name plus "CDS"). In the admissions section, look for "Level of Applicant’s Interest." Many colleges will say "not considered," but others might say "considered."

Here’s an example from one university's Common Data Set.

Find Your Vibe

When most people, including me, think about college visits, this is what pops into their head: "Can you see yourself" at this college or university? This is really just asking, "Does this college feel right for you?" The easy stuff, like admission rates, student numbers, or how many students per teacher, you can find with a quick Google search. But the "vibe" stuff—like student energy, how involved people are on campus, if professors seem to care, how the campus looks, what weekend life is like, and if you feel safe—you have to experience it.

To really find your perfect fit, it's super important to visit when classes are happening or when lots of students are around. It’s also a great chance to chat with professors and students to get their honest opinions. Lots of websites give advice on what questions to ask during a tour. I'm planning to write a separate article with my own tips, but for now, my quick advice is to ask questions you can't easily google, and treat your tour guides and everyone you meet like real people, not just info booths. Hear their stories and see if you click with them.

Discover Yourself

I seriously think this is the most important reason to visit a college, and it's why I created My College Visit. You should start your college search with some ideas of what you want. The tricky part, though, is that you might not be able to perfectly state what's important to you. That's why I'm all about a process of learning as you go. Start with some basic ideas; as long as you've thought about it a little, these first ideas are totally fine. All your research after that, including college visits and talking to students, will help you fine-tune what you're looking for. Not only will you get a clearer picture of what you want in a college, but you'll probably learn something new about yourself too.

For example, you might initially think you want a huge university, only to realize you don’t want big classes, and what you really care about is going to exciting football games with your friends. The main point is, you don't need to have all the answers about what you want in a college from the beginning. You can and should use college visits to make your list better and maybe even discover more about who you are.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, I've given you three strong reasons to go on a campus tour to help refine your criteria before applying to a college or university. College visits show schools you're interested in them, give you a much better feel for the campus vibe, and help you figure out what you really want in a college. I know not everyone has the time or money to travel to different campuses, and there are solutions for that too, which I'll talk about in an upcoming article. In the meantime, I encourage you to start brainstorming your criteria list and if possible sign up for and go on a college tour when classes are in session.