WhooHoo! Your teen has decided to go to college, and you’re excited! You’ve made plans to take a half-day off on Friday, and you and your teen will spend two nights in the college town. There’s an informal get-together Friday evening where you can meet other potential students and parents. Saturday morning is a campus tour followed by a home football game in the afternoon. Sunday morning is a brunch when they’ll help you complete the college application. The weekend...
Over the past few weeks, I’ve discussed creating a list of colleges to visit and when to go. (If you missed these posts, click here.) The next step is to determine what information you want to learn while you're there. What questions are you going to ask to evaluate the schools effectively? Questions that will truly tell you and your teen about the college experience. First, create a running list of questions you have. Post a piece of paper where you and your teen can both contribute to the...
The time has come for you and your teen to start taking a look at colleges. You may have a list of ten or more campuses to visit. How do you find information on tours and put together a plan? I have the answers! Before you get started, keep in mind that college visits can be very expensive. You can easily spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars just on one campus visit. You don’t want to skimp but with proper planning, you can make the most of your visits without breaking the bank. Costs to...
Campus visits are vital in determining which colleges your teen wants to attend. You wouldn’t buy a house without checking it out first. Why would you apply to a college, sight unseen? First, let’s talk about when your teen should visit college campuses. We often assume that campus tours should happen during the spring semester of junior year, and yes, most families do schedule tours during Spring Break. Campus tours should begin during your student’s first or second year of high school....
At this point in the school year, the high school hustle and bustle is in full swing. As parents, we make sure our teens get to school, take them to band or sports practices, and ensure they get their homework done. Amid our busy schedules, we need to make sure we're staying on top of college planning. Here are a few tasks, by grade level, for you what your teen should be focused on now: Seniors Decide where you want to apply and find out their application deadlines Obtain letters of...
Are you and your child planning for college visits? You want to make sure you make the most out of the tours and not feeling, "I wished I asked about ..." Download our Campus Tour Starter Questions to help you start putting together your list of questions. We just need your first name and email for the automatic download. [email-download download_id=”582” contact_form_id=”575”]
How am I an insider? A little-known fact about me: I am a retired college campus tour guide. That’s me circled with my fellow tour guides, known as the Ambassadors. The Ambassadors were group of students who had many different responsibilities around college campus including serving as hosts at special functions, making alumni donation calls, and one of my favorites, giving campus tours. I walked prospective students and their parents around the campus and told them all about the school I...
College is a lot more than classes; it’s the atmosphere that your child will be in for their entire college experience. Visiting the campus plays an important part in choosing which college is the best fit for your child. This is the time to visit dorms, offices, classrooms, the town in which it is located and get any questions answered that you might have. When you visit a college there will usually be a current student or alumni giving you a tour. By doing this, you and your child will...