Next on the itinerary was Davidson College in Davidson, NC. Davidson requires that you sign up for college tours and information sessions on their website, so make sure you do that about a week in advance. When we arrived at the admissions building, they had forms and folders with our names on them. It was a little intimidating telling them about my favorite books and what other schools I was looking into, but at least it showed they had a legitimate interest in their applicants and future student body.

The student tour guide seemed like she really loved going to Davidson but wasn’t bubbling with enthusiasm. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I like tour guides to be that way. It bothers me when they are dull and disinterested, but it bothers me just as much when they’re over-the-top… it just makes them seem superficial. The tour brought us all around the moderate-sized campus and really caught my attention. The facilities were really well-kept and organized, with lots of bulletin board displays about various academic or extracurricular opportunities for students. I also liked the fact that a lot of people were getting around on bikes. On college tours, looking is as important, if not more, than listening.

The information session was also excellent. The admissions officer talked specifically about the character of Davidson, rather than just giving the usual spiel about what admissions offices are looking for on your application (hint: it’s always good test scores, even better grades, recommendations, extracurricular involvement, and your essay). I was so impressed by what I had heard so far that I decided to round out my visit by attending a class.

Observing Advanced Intermediate French through Cinema confirmed my approval of Davidson. As I quietly took a seat in the corner of the classroom, the students called me over and insisted I join the circle. The professor introduced me to the class, then dove into a stimulating, discussion-based class. All the students were engaged, and even when he was going over exercises, the professor made a point to get the students talking and practicing their French. I talked to him afterwards (always thank a professor if you sit in on his or her class!) and he talked about how great the relationships between students and faculty are at Davidson.

Before going on to our next stop (Charlottesville, VA to see the University of Virginia) we had lunch on campus, yet another great way to get a real impression of the college you’re visiting. This is your time to choose where you can make the best of your college years, and it’s always worth the extra time to add to visiting experience.

Greetings, teen travelers, from the state of North Carolina. I just spent a week relaxing in the Outer Banks, but as a rising high school senior, how could I not embrace the opportunity to follow up a beach vacation with college touring in a region I hadn’t yet explored? Might as well combine relaxation with reality, right?

Two days ago, my friend Harriet, her father, and I arrived at our first destination: Duke University in Durham, NC. Since we couldn’t get there in time for the tour, we walked around with a printed copy of the tour guide manual. That way, we were able to take the same route that the guided tour takes and simultaneously amuse ourselves with tour guide regulations– don’t call it a cafeteria, call it a dining hall! The Duke campus was beautiful and a pleasure to walk around, but it was very hot and sunny, so I would advise sunscreen, water, and appropriate summer apparel. My favorite buildings were the library, for its vast collection of volumes, and the student center, which contained a bookstore, supply store, a theater, an art exhibit, and various casual eateries.

My overall impression of Duke is that it is a competitive academic environment with an impressive array of activities to become involved in and top-notch facilities. For me, however, it lacked a certain flavor that attracted me to other schools– the students looked like they all belonged to the same crowd in high school, and they didn’t have anything exciting on the foreign language/international relations front, the two areas of study that interest me the most. If I’m going to apply to such a prestigious school as Duke, it should feel more right. However, I would highly suggest you check it out if you’re looking for an Ivy-League equivalent in a southern location.

I would also suggest spending a day in Durham! Since there aren’t usually any college tours on Sundays, we spent ours exploring the town around Duke. After breakfast at Waffle House, which I’m told is a classic Southern dining experience, we stopped at several stores on Ninth Street and West Main Street, recommended to us by a pamphlet we got at Duke’s admissions office. My favorites were Vaguely Reminiscent, a novelty store/fair trade accessories shop hybrid, and Regulator Books, a classic independent bookstore. Brightleaf Square also had fun shopping and a pleasant array of eating choices.

Stay tuned for my report on Davidson College, our next stop on our southern college expedition.

Take a deep breath. Keeping a calm attitude is beneficial to everyone involved in the college search, and staying relaxed helps parents and teenagers communicate  more effectively.

Plan. Make a chart of what schools you are visiting, the available times for their tours and info-sessions, what kind of transportation to use to get to each school, and anything else they may offer (for example, Boston University had a free lunch for prospective students, so we were sure to hop on that offer in order to save money). It just so happens that my mom is a Microsoft Excel fanatic, so she eagerly made spreadsheets and charts to guide us through our days in New England. Alex’s mom Luisa was the driver/adult chaperone on this action-packed trip and she appreciated having all the necessarydetails at her fingertips as we zipped from Boston College to Boston University and Northeastern University all in ONE exhausting day via the Boston “T”!

Bring a notebook and pen. And a camera. Since you can find most of the academic information online, be sure to note the fun, unique things about each school so that you can remember what sets them apart, and which school seems to be more tailored to student life. For example, Boston University has free tutors and paper-editing, which is not exactly a deciding factor, but is definitely something noteworthy. Take pictures so you remember what each school looks like.

The view over the sports fields at Amherst College

 
Wear comfortable shoes. Depending on what schools you visit and the size of the campuses, you are going to do a lot of walking, and often at a very awkward pace between normal-walking and speed-walking, so it may be wise to wear the most supportive shoes you have.

Do your homework. I know this is a forbidden word in these precious summer months, but it is important that you research the schools you plan to visit ahead of time, so you know what you’re dealing with. Also, researching in advance allows you to ask specific questions tailored to your own academic interests so you can skip the introductory stuff of the info sessions and learn something that may be relevant to you.
 

Make friends with your tour guide. Laugh at their awkward, silly jokes. Warn them of the curbs or people or moving cars as they walk backwards. Forgive them when they accidentally curse mid-tour. Ask questions about their academic field and, although their answers may be manipulated to put their school in the best light, remember that no one knows more than the tour guides, who sometimes volunteer to do what they do.

Make friends with strangers. Talk to the students on campus; ask them about the school and why they chose that specific one. The tour guides typically can’t tell you what other schools they applied to, but anyone else can, so take advantage of the opportunity to get names of other schools you may not have heard of that are on the same level as the one you’re visiting. If you’re too shy to approach a student, look at the campus as a whole. Are the students smiling? Do they look like they genuinely enjoy the school they’re at?

Some students in Boston College

Eat out. Explore Ask a student where to find some food, and they’ll typically direct you to a somewhat cheap (!) and delicious restaurant or café teeming with other students. When you go to college you want the whole feel of the campus and the neighborhood, and eating is an important part of that. Also, make sure to check out the city closest to the college, because you’ll probably spend a lot of time there, either interning, working or partying.

It turns out Boston has some great arches to walk through and public places to enjoy

You can also take a lovely walk along the water

Super-collegiate greetings from Boston– the city of 250,000 college students. I’ve visited seemingly a zillion institutions of higher learning over the past three days and have a lot of pictures to put up later, but for now I want to talk specifically about my visits to Yale and Harvard.

A lot of anxious juniors snort at the idea of checking out these highly selective and prestigious schools, or any of the other Ivies, for that matter. Whether you’ve been scared off by the single-digit acceptance rates or the countless smartypants scholars they’ve produced (click here for lists of alumni that will melt your brains), you might have decided it’s not worth paying a visit. Here’s why you should re-consider:

For one, visiting ANY college shouldn’t be stressful. It’s all about finding schools that impress you and that would give you a good college experience. If anything, THEY should be worried about how they present themselves to YOU. Walking around a college campus and picking up information isn’t making a statement about you or yours odds of getting in. Waltz in, see what you like, grab a pamphlet, pose with a statue, waltz out.

Secondly, both Yale and Harvard have stunning campuses. Yale has a mixture of gothic and modern architecture and is all-around very picturesque. If you take the tour, they show you Branford College, the prettiest residential college with a courtyard that Robert Frost considered the most beautiful in America. Harvard is more colonial-style, but equally scenic and fun to explore. If you don’t want to attend an information sessions, just enjoy the campuses and read up on the academics later.

Finally, you never know until you try. What if you love the intellectual Ivy environment and could totally picture yourself being a part of it? There’s no harm in applying, and if you think you’d be happy there, it’s worth a shot. Don’t get your hopes up, but don’t immediately disregard these competitive schools. Maybe you’ll end up going to Yale or Harvard for grad school. In any case, you’ll have a fun time visiting both.

For more info on planning your next colleging visit, go to: www.smartcollegevisit.com

Fun fact: Evanston is where Meangirls takes place and Aaron Samuels goes to Northwestern.

On our last day in Chicago, my mother and I took the train to Evanston to tour Northwestern University– they have good directions on their website. Before going on the afternoon tour, we had lunch at the Norris University Center and I got to meet with a student and ask her questions! Before you go visit a school, find out if your parents know anybody with kids at that school and see if they’d be willing to talk to you. It was awesome to be able to meet one-on-one with a current student because she REALLY knew what she was talking about, and while she discussed what she loved about Northwestern, she wasn’t just telling me what what I wanted to hear.

When it came time for the tour and information session, I wasn’t as impressed with the information session as I had been with the one at UChicago. It sounded more like a sales pitch than a high-energy conversation. I still took notes, though– you should always take good notes.
The tour was very much enjoyable, with our guide talking a lot about student life, where to get good food, small class sizes, and the distribution requirements. Finally, after the tour, we walked along the lake and visited an art exhibition in the Deering Library. I looked through Da Vinci’s notebooks while my mom buried herself in books on impressionism. All in all, I was very impressed with Northwestern, and I’d definitely recommend taking the tour if you’re going to be in the Chicago area.

By the way, if you’re looking for a good place to eat lunch or dinner in Evanston, try Lulu’s. They satisfied my perpetual Asian food craving with the most delicious stir fry I’ve ever had, and it was only a 10 minute walk from the campus!

This concludes my little colleging series on Chicago. If you liked what you read about, consider visiting during your spring break! Keep an eye out for more colleging blogs from us collegebound TTTers, and finally, visit smartcollegevisit.com for college touring tips! They’re a fabulous resource and address questions about college visits you might not hear a lot. If you want to let us know about YOUR college trip, be our guest!

I frequently pass Monmouth University while on my way to the Jersey Shore (don’t get the wrong impression, it’s not at all like the beach on MTV).  My mom and I were  interested in visiting the campus, so we took a tour last fall.  Located in West Long Branch, NJ, Monmouth University is a couple blocks from the beautiful ocean.  Also, along the Long Branch boardwalk is Pier Village, which is home to a number of tasty restaurants and trendy shops.  

The campus itself has a nice combination of old, historic buildings and modern buildings.   The historical landmark, Wilson Hall, is especially nice, with sky high columns, intricate marble and and a plethora of detail.  When I walked in, I was floored.  It was truly one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in. 

The dining hall was pretty standard, but I did notice that it was serving a variety of ethnic foods. The food looked good enough to make my stomache growl.  We continued on across the green lawns, lined by flowers and towering trees. We walked through an underpass which had engraved at the top, “Carpe Diem.”  I thought that was a simple, noble reminder for all college students. Our tour guide showed us some classrooms which I found to be too similar to high school classrooms.  However, the school does boast a small student to faculty ratio of 15:1.

The students there seemed friendly, and a large majority of them were wearing “Monmouth University” apparel, so they must be heavily into school pride.  There are many activities on campus such as movie nights, festivals and concerts.

Overall, while I do not think that this college is for me (for it doesn’t specialize in my major), the beautiful buildings, competitive academics, and stellar location are enough to check Monmouth University out while you college search.  For more tips on your college trips, check out: www.smartcollegevisit.com.