Editor’s note: A version of this column was first published on the Minerva Project blog.

In the United States, summer is time for a much-deserved school break, family vacations, and for many students — college campus tours.

In fact, some students visit so many colleges over the summer it’s dizzying. When I was an admission counselor at a university that saw more than 50,000 visitors per year, I often asked groups of students and families at our information sessions how many schools they had already visited. Usually it was a handful or two at most. But one time a girl raised her hand and had a jaw-dropping list of 35.

This is not a knock on the college tour. It can be a valuable tool in helping students decide which school is a good fit for them. But herein lies the challenge: The more schools you visit, the more they tend to sound — and look — the same. This makes it even more important to ask the right questions when you visit.

Continue reading 4 Questions to Ask on College Tours this Summer →