A Quick Word About Info Sessions and College Tours

With just a few weeks left before school starts, summer is a great time for touring colleges.  Having been on over a dozen college tours in the past 2 weeks, I wanted to offer a few words of guidance:

•  Make sure to register and sign in when you arrive for an info session.  Some colleges keep track of how many contacts you have with them before applying.

•  Info sessions may or may not offer you new information other than what you can find on a college’s website.  But they can give you an opportunity to meet one of the people who will read your application.

•  Please don’t use an info session to ask the admissions counselor questions that are specific to your situation.  They are always happy to speak to you after their presentation about special questions you may have.

•  Please, please, PLEASE turn off or silence your cell phone when you enter an info session.  Don’t be that guy.

•  If you are given a choice of tour guides, choose the one who has been there the longest.  Choose the senior over the sophomore.  Also, choose the one whose major is closest to your interests.

•  Keep in mind that tour guides are highly scripted – so ask questions about their personal experience.  Don’t be afraid to knock them off script!

•  If you don’t like your tour guide for some reason, and there are other tours in the proximity, feel free to change tours.  I toured Duke University yesterday, and within the first 10 minutes my tour guide told us she was tired, had had too much caffeine yesterday morning, and felt like there was a spider on her back (not kidding!).  Clearly she was not happy to be there.  Since there were other groups in the same area of the library we were in at the time, I hung back and joined another tour.  And since they are highly scripted (see above), I listened again to how you can print any document from any print station on campus by swiping your DukeCard.

I spent all of last week touring colleges in Oregon; this week I’ve been in North Carolina and I’m headed to New Jersey today.  Check out my College Visits page for more information and photos of the colleges I’ve visited!