{"id":2650,"date":"2018-11-07T11:57:58","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T16:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wordpress\/?p=2650"},"modified":"2018-11-07T11:57:58","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T16:57:58","slug":"a-college-visit-to-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2018\/11\/07\/a-college-visit-to-remember\/","title":{"rendered":"A College Visit to Remember"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_2651\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2651\" style=\"width: 724px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2651\" src=\"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/CollegeTour.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"724\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/CollegeTour.jpg 724w, https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/CollegeTour-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2651\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>We\u2019d like to know a little bit about you for our files;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We\u2019d like to help you learn to help yourself;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Simon and Garfunkel\u2019s lyrics mirror the facts and feelings of visiting prospective colleges these days.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why Visit Colleges?<br \/>\n<\/strong>The cost of four years of higher education can be approximately that of a new home, and who buys a house without checking out the bathrooms? Here\u2019s what a visit can do for a student:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dispel vague impressions with facts about academic and co-curricular life.<\/li>\n<li>Transform a first-choice college to a fifth-choice, or the other way around.<\/li>\n<li>Establish a satisfying alternate destination should a first-choice college not offer admission.<\/li>\n<li>Uncover a community surrounding the college that fascinates, educates, and employs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Keep an Open Mind<br \/>\n<\/strong>When asked why a particular college visit was unappealing, students often reply, \u201cIt rained,\u201d or \u201cThe tour guide was uncool.\u201d These responses are signs of a mind already made up before setting foot on the first grassy quadrangle. As the saying goes, \u201cYou can\u2019t shake hands with a clenched fist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>When to Visit Colleges<br \/>\n<\/strong>It is perfectly fine for high school freshmen, sophomores, and upward to visit colleges, although some admission offices limit visits to juniors and seniors. The only downside for younger students happens when parents try to make more of the visit than an easygoing overview, e.g., \u201cThis is what you\u2019ll miss if you don\u2019t get your grades up.\u201d Admission counselors react warmly to students who arrange their visit themselves, and who step up to introduce themselves and their parents upon arrival rather than being passively or reluctantly pulled forward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Make the Visit Your Own<br \/>\n<\/strong>It\u2019s almost impossible to experience a college in less than three hours. With mind and calendar cleared, check with the admission office well in advance about viewing particular facilities or sitting in on a class. Always visit a first-year residence hall because that\u2019s literally where you\u2019ll live. (The laundry dryers in one college\u2019s residence hall will text when the cycle is done\u2014how did we ever manage without that?) Ask to speak for a few minutes with a campus specialist such as a financial aid counselor, professor or upper-level student in an academic department of interest, career planning expert, diversity and inclusion administrator, or coach.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Campus Tour<br \/>\n<\/strong>Situate yourself near the tour guide so you can hear what\u2019s going on; this can be accomplished by a simple flanking maneuver that places you at the edge of the group closest to the speaker. Here\u2019s a tip that\u2019s seldom used: If the tour is divided into more than one group, students and parents should split up as well. Doing so enables the student to encounter the campus as an independent young adult rather than a tagalong.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Parent\u2019s Role<br \/>\n<\/strong>Parents do well to be reserved during visits, allowing their student to emerge and engage according to personal preference. Trust that the student knows what\u2019s what and allow participation to emerge or not.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Enjoy Yourself<br \/>\n<\/strong>Plan a free day in the itinerary to relax, check out cultural scenes, spelunk, or bungee jump.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Homeward Bound<br \/>\n<\/strong>As you arrive home from your grand college tour, Simon and Garfunkel are again warbling on \u201860s Sirius Radio. The lyrics seem just for you on the verge of a college adventure:<\/p>\n<p><em>Your time has come to shine;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>All your dreams are on their way;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>See how they shine.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2652\" src=\"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/BryanRutledge-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>NACAC member Bryan Rutledge serves as director of college counseling at Woodward Academy (GA).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019d like to know a little bit about you for our files; We\u2019d like to help you learn to help yourself; Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes; Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home. Simon and Garfunkel\u2019s lyrics mirror the facts and feelings of visiting prospective colleges these days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-admission"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Bryan Rutledge","author_link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/author\/bryan-rutledge\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peWmJq-GK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}