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Juniors, Now’s the Time to Schedule Your College Visits

Juniors, it’s time for you to get started on college visits.

Whether you’re thinking about knocking out one or two or hitting a series of colleges, here is your go-to guide for setting up a college visit. 

We’ll walk you through a steps to take before, during and after visits to help you find your perfect fit.

And if COVID-19 protocols are still underway, don’t miss our article about what to do when you can’t tour colleges in person .

What Can Juniors Do Right Now? 

Juniors can do a lot right now, including developing a checklist and other things you can put on the family calendar.

Step 1: Start talking.

That’s right. Sit down and have a conversation with your family.

What are you thinking you want to do for college? Do you think you want to go to a large school? A small school? What fits your personality and preferences?

Start talking with adults you trust about schools that make sense for your needs.

Step 2: Brainstorm.

Have no idea where to start? Start a brainstorming session where you write down your visions about what you think your college experience might be like.

Rather than throwing a dart at a map and jumping in the car, it’s a good idea to ask yourself a few questions: 

• Do you see yourself going to a large or small school?
• Do you want a lot of personalized attention? 
• Are you looking for a more selective institution? 
• How far away from home do you want to live?
• When you envision college, what do you think of?

In other words, think broadly about your college visit choices, then think more narrowly about the colleges you’d like to visit. 

Put a premium on relationships when you make this list.

What kind of people do you want to meet? What type of individuals do you want to learn from?

Remember, college is about way more than pretty residence halls, beautiful buildings and other aesthetic things. It’s about the people who influence you along the way.

Step 3: Research at least one college.

Choose at least one college and do as much research as you can. Learn more about that particular school’s:

• Admission criteria
• Results — how many students go to graduate school, get a job after graduation, etc.
• School profile 
• Academics and selectivity: Are you looking for a serious academic environment? Would you rather go to a school that focuses on undergraduate teaching — or research? 
• Potential majors
• Housing information
• Extracurricular activities
• Athletics opportunities

After you narrow down some of the “big” things, like distance from home and general experience, then you can start thinking about things like major, requirements and more.

Does this college college or university you’ve researched fit the bill? If not, look for another one. If that one makes sense, move toward school as your first visit.

Step 4: Check the calendar.

Once you’ve honed in on your first college to visit, figure out what visit day fits into your schedule. Check your calendar and your family members’ calendars too. Remember, mom and dad likely have to drive you to your visit or coordinate flights. You need to plan the visit with your parents, and you might need to make sure your brothers’ and sisters’ schedules are open too. 

How to Set Up a College Visits

First of all, make sure you (the student!) call the schools where you’re interested in setting up a visit.

Your mom or dad should not make the call. It’s time to put some of those adulting skills into practice.

Step 1: Think through what you want to do on your visit. 

Who are the must-see people on your radar—the soccer coach, tutoring center, a financial aid advisor? It’s OK if you’re not sure. You can work through some of these questions when you make your phone call to the admissions office.

Step 2: Call the college or university’s admissions office. 

Don’t set up a visit online. Talk to an actual person.

Or, if you do set up a visit online, call and make sure the admissions office received your scheduled visit—and that it didn’t get lost in cyberspace.

Have a detailed conversation about what you’d like to do when you’re on the visit.

Step 3: Ask for a personal campus visit. 

Try to steer clear of group visit days. 

Naturally, you’re an individual and have specific interests and needs.

When you’re stuck on a group visit, no one student will have the same interests as you. You could get stuck touring the gym for 25 minutes of your hour-long tour (even if you’re not an athlete or hate the thought of a treadmill). Who wants that?

A personal campus visit ensures your visit is all about you and nobody else.

Step 5: Get ready! 

You don’t want to start a college visit without doing some preparation. You want to know as much as possible about the college you’re visiting before you visit. 

Simple. You don’t want to waste time learning stuff you already know. If you already know the basics, like the size of the college, majors available and costs, why spend time relearning stuff you already know? 

Plus, it brings camaraderie with the admission staff or chemistry professors when you say, “Yeah! And that biochemistry secondary major—that sounds cool.”

You’ll never believe how much people’s eyes light up when you know something about the college or university already.

What to Do During/After Visits

When you arrive at the admissions office, go to the campus visit coordinator’s desk and introduce yourself. That individual will help you get your day started in the right direction. 

While you’re on your visit, do your best to ask great questions. You want to think of questions before you visit and ask everyone questions. Get each person talking about the college or university you’re visiting. It’s best to get candid thoughts from each individual you talk to.

This may sound like a pain, but it’s a good idea to get all your thoughts together and take a minute or two to jot down all your initial reactions to the college you’ve just visited. Grab your phone and type in some notes on the card or plane ride home.

Believe it or not, it’s difficult to remember each individual school after your 10th college visit.

Now’s the Time!

Juniors, we’ve offered everything you need to know about how to schedule a college visit .

It’s a matter of sitting down with your family members or other trusted adults, pouring over Niche’s 2021 college rankings and making lists of what matters to you.  

It’s going to be a great time, so have fun with the process. 

Ready to Find Your Niche? Create an Account

Author: Melissa Brock

Melissa Brock is the founder of College Money Tips and Money editor at Benzinga. She loves helping families navigate their finances and the college search process. Check out her essential timeline and checklist for the college search!

More Articles By Niche

While many current college students tout the importance of being able to actually step foot onto the campus you might go to, sometimes the circumstances just do not work out.

At Niche, we know a college is more than its stats or buildings. We also know it can be hard to figure out a college’s vibe or how students feel about it from its website alone. Using our comprehensive college profiles and social media accounts, you can get a sense of what life at a college is really like. Here are three simple ways to do that.

In case you haven’t heard yet, Niche has an amazing new opportunity for high school seniors. Niche Direct Admissions is a program that allows participating colleges to accept students and offer scholarships based on their Niche Profile. That’s right — no application needed.

32 Questions to Ask on a College Visit

Students should feel free to ask questions during an information session or on tour.

Questions to Ask on a College Visit

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Prospective students should conduct at least basic research to facilitate questions to ask during the information session or on tour, experts say.

Key Takeaways

• Before a campus visit, students should do basic research on the school.
• Students and their families have various opportunities to ask questions.
• No question is dumb.

College visits, whether in person or virtual, can help give prospective students a better feel of campus life.

Contrary to popular belief, however, students don’t need to have that “a-ha” moment when they eventually find the campus where they belong, says Thyra Briggs, vice president for admission and financial aid at Harvey Mudd College in California.

“I just don't think that happens for most students,” she says. “I don't want students to walk away from a visit where that didn't happen thinking, ‘Oh, this is not the place for me.’ This is a long-term relationship. It's not necessarily love at first sight. … In this age of instant gratification, I think it's an important thing to give a school a chance to affect you in a different way.”

For an in-person visit, families should prepare ahead of time by checking the weather and dressing comfortably as tours are mostly held outside.

"Leave plenty of time at an individual campus and allow yourself to enjoy the experience, be present in the moment and (don't) feel rushed because that could also skew your perception of things," says Bryan Gross, vice president for enrollment management at Hartwick College in New York.

It’s also important, experts say, to conduct at least basic research on the institution – even if it’s just looking at their social media accounts – to help facilitate questions to ask during the information session or on tour.

"We know that for some of you, this may be the first time you are going through this," Briggs says. "For others, it's a different student (going through the process) than the student you had who's older. So there’s no bad questions. ... I would hope that any college would welcome any question a student would ask.”

Here are 32 example questions, collected from college admissions and enrollment professions, that students don't always think to ask on college visits. These questions – edited for length or clarity – were provided by Briggs, Gross and Brian Lindeman, assistant vice president of admissions and financial aid at Macalester College  in Minnesota.

Questions About Admissions

• Does this school consider demonstrated interest?
• Is there an opportunity for prospective students to sit in on a class to experience a real lecture?
• Are there options to receive a lunch or dinner pass at the dining hall to try the food?

Questions About Academics

• Where do students typically study?
• How does advising work?
• What are the academic strengths of this school?
• What opportunities are there for study abroad and exchange programs?
• If available, are these global programs directly run by this school – where faculty members travel with students – or are these study abroad programs outsourced to a third-party company?
• Are these study abroad experiences built into the tuition or are there additional fees to participate?

Questions About Financial Aid

• What is this school's average financial aid package?
• What is the average net cost when students enroll?
• What is the current level of funding with endowed scholarships – how much are donors contributing to scholarships?
• Do you offer merit aid ? If so, what are you looking for in a candidate?

Questions About Campus Housing and Community

• What are the housing options?
• What are the fee structures for these different options?
• Are students required to live on campus ?
• How does your campus define diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging?

Questions to Ask Your Tour Guide to Gauge Campus Life

• What surprised you about this school? What's something you didn't expect?
• What keeps you coming back to this school each year?
• Have we seen your favorite place on campus?
• What event on campus gets the biggest turnout every year?
• If you were struggling with an issue, would you know who to turn to? Who would that be?

Questions About Work and Research Opportunities

• What are the opportunities for undergraduate research on campus?
• How do those research opportunities give students valuable hands-on experiences that enhance their resumes?
• What are some specific ways this school helps students gain hands-on experience through internships ?

Questions About Student and Career Outcomes

• What is the retention rate from freshman to sophomore year?
• What is the five-year graduation rate?
• What is the job-attainment rate of graduates within six months of graduating?
• What percent of students are going on to graduate school ?
• What percent of students are intentionally taking time off post-graduation compared to those who are not able to find jobs?
• What size is the alumni network?
• How are alumni actively engaging with recent graduates to help connect them specifically to opportunities in their fields?

Searching for a college? Get our  complete rankings  of Best Colleges.

Unique College Campus Visits

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College admissions

Course: college admissions   >   unit 3.

• Visiting campus

Planning your college visit

Tips for planning your college visit

• Take a campus tour
• Schedule an interview with an admissions officer
• Sit in on a class that interests you
• Have lunch in the dining hall (Most admissions officers can give you a voucher to enjoy a free lunch on campus)
• Talk to students and ask questions (i.e. how they're enjoying their classes or what campus life is like)
• Explore the area surrounding campus
• Read the college newspaper
• Scan the bulletin boards around campus for upcoming events and announcements
• Schedule an overnight and spend the night in the dorms with a current student
• Explore the town at night and have dinner at a local off-campus favorite amongst students
• Make sure to get the contact information of the people you meet with so you can reach out later if you have questions

Strategize the order in which you visit these schools

Always follow-up with a "thank you" letter, there's a final reason you should visit your top choice schools....

• Visiting campus and scheduling a tour
• Overnight stay

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57 Essential Questions to Ask on a College Visit

Updated on May 22nd, 2024

A campus tour for college admission is an opportunity. Visitors have a chance to learn more about the school, which can be critical for the  college selection process . But figuring out what questions to ask on a college campus visit isn’t always easy. Your student only has a small amount of time to find out what they need to know.

College visit questions need to allow your student to discover the information they can’t find elsewhere. It’s a crucial part of making the most of the college tour experience . At times, this means broaching topics that aren’t discussed on the school’s website, in the college’s brochures, or student reviews. In others, it’s all about diving deeper into a subject that’s only touched on online or in college materials.

Luckily, choosing the questions to ask on a college visit doesn’t have to be a challenge. If your student doesn’t know where to begin, here are some helpful questions to ask when touring a college they can use.

• 1 Why College Visit Questions Are Important
• 2.1 Basic Questions to Ask on College Visits
• 2.2 Academic Questions to Ask During a College Visit
• 2.3 Campus Life College Visit Questions
• 2.4 Residence Life Questions to Ask When Touring a College
• 2.5 Student Body Questions for a College Visit
• 2.6 Work and Career Questions to Ask on a College Tour
• 3 When to Bring Up Your Questions to Ask When Visiting Colleges

Why College Visit Questions Are Important

Most colleges make a ton of information available to prospective students. A school’s website is often massive, providing students with a solid overview of everything from the admissions process to the available programs to housing. Even extracurricular activities and academic support are typically covered. Usually, the site provides more details than any student would be able to cover.

Plus, schools usually have other information resources available. Booklets and brochures are the most common option. Additionally, many colleges have YouTube channels, allowing them to easily share videos that showcase the college campus, curriculum, and student life.

With all of that information available, it wouldn’t seem like your student needs to ready any questions for a college visit. But that isn’t the case. While preparing questions to ask when touring a college doesn’t seem critical on the surface, it’s incredibly important.

Even with all of the available resources, specific topics might not be covered. By creating a list of questions to ask when visiting colleges, your student makes sure that they can discover details that aren’t discussed elsewhere during campus visits.

Additionally, a ‘questions to ask on a college tour’ list lets your student focus on subjects that matter most to them. Not only will students succeed because they guarantee that they don’t overlook something critical to their decision-making process, but they also ensure they cover the same information at every college tour. That way, they can fairly compare their options.

Sample Questions to Ask on a College Tour

When it comes to questions to ask when visiting colleges, the options seem nearly endless. However, by focusing on the right areas, your student can gather crucial details they need. Then, when it comes time to choose a college , they have enough information to make that decision.

In most cases, your student will have a chance to speak with the college tour guide themselves. However, they can also reach out to current students, and alumni network as they can be an excellent resource when you want to learn about that school’s college experience.

Here are 57 sample questions to ask on a college tour, broken into categories.

Basic Questions to Ask on College Visits

• Why differentiates this school from other colleges?
• Are you happy being a student (teacher) at this school?
• What are this school’s strengths?
• If you had to say, what’s your biggest complaint about this college?
• What is one area where this school could improve?
• How accessible are the professors, financial aid officers, student services employees, etc.?
• What’s the average financial aid package look like?
• What do the four-, five-, and six-year graduation rates look like?
• How many freshmen return here for their sophomore year?

Academic Questions to Ask During a College Visit

• Which majors are the most popular here, and why?
• How many courses/hours does the average full-time student take each semester?
• What programs or departments have the strongest reputations?
• What teaching style do most professors here use?
• Are most classes led by professors or teaching assistants?
• Is accessing first-choice classes a challenge?
• Do classes tend to be discussion-based or lecture-based?
• How much time should students expect to dedicate to studying and assignments outside of the classroom?
• Are collaborative or group projects common requirements?
• Do students have access to tutoring programs, writing centers, computer labs, or other learning-oriented resources?
• What’s the average number of students in a classroom at a time for introductory courses? What about advanced classes?
• Is studying abroad an available or popular option?
• Are there opportunities for undergraduate research?
• Is the Disability Services office helpful? What resources do they make available to qualifying students?

Campus Life College Visit Questions

• What does an average day for a first-year student look like here?
• What do students do when they aren’t in class?
• What are weekends like on campus?
• Is there a vibrant social scene?
• Where do students go to hang out?
• Is there something about the local community that sets it apart?
• What student organizations or clubs are the most popular?
• Are there a lot of fraternities or sororities?
• If a student was looking for a great place to study, where on-campus should they go besides their dorm room or the library?
• What facilities (gyms, libraries, theaters, labs, etc.) are available to students?
• Is the WiFi on campus fast? Are there dead spots on campus? Does it go down a lot?
• Are sports a big part of this school’s culture?

Residence Life Questions to Ask When Touring a College

• What is the dorm environment like? How many students are there per room? Are the bathrooms private or shared? Are there kitchens, laundry rooms, or lounges?
• Are dorms separated by shared interest, academic year, or another criterion?
• Do most students get along with their initially assigned roommate or are changes frequently requested?
• If I need a room switch, is that possible? Who do I contact?
• How’s the cafeteria or on-campus food?
• Do the dining halls accommodate special dietary requirements?
• Are there any local restaurants that students love?
• Can you get around easily without a car? What are the available transportation options?

Student Body Questions for a College Visit

• What makes this student body unique?
• Is this a diverse campus? Are there international students?
• Are students generally friendly?
• What percentage of the students live in the dorms?
• Does this school have a lot of cliques?
• Does it ever feel too crowded here?
• Have there been any student protests on campus recently? What issue was the focus?

Work and Career Questions to Ask on a College Tour

• Can you find internships here? Where do you go to learn more about them?
• Are work-study options available?
• Is the Career Services office helpful?
• Are there leadership opportunities on campus?
• Does the school help students get involved in the community? What opportunities are available?
• Can students find summer jobs through the college or in the local community with ease?
• Is the alumni association active and visible on campus?

When to Bring Up Your Questions to Ask When Visiting Colleges

If your student wants to go through their questions to ask on a college visit list, they need to time them wisely. Interrupting the guide or preventing others from having an opportunity to ask their questions are both bad ideas. Similarly, broaching topics at strange moments – such as asking about dorm life when you haven’t made it to the dorm part of the campus housing tour – isn’t a great move.

Instead, your student should try to align their questions with each segment of the campus tour. For example, as they go through the classroom buildings, asking about the academic experience is appropriate. Once they reach the cafeteria, asking about the food is fine.

Just make sure your student gives others a chance to get their questions answered, too. They probably aren’t the only student participating, so they need to give others the space to find out what they want to know.

Additionally, your student shouldn’t stress if they can’t get every question answered during the tour. Usually, once the exploration part is done, there will be another chance to learn more about topics that weren’t covered.

If you and your student want to learn more about finding scholarships, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar ! Head over to  https://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar  to reserve your spot today .

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February 6, 2020 at 4:03 pm

Great list of questions to ask when visiting colleges. I think the one that stands out the most, to me, is asking about popular majors. Colleges tend to have their own specialties, even if their majors are broad, so knowing which ones are the most popular will help students get the most out of their college experiences.

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