College Advising: Visiting Schools Over Summer Vacation

 June 29--Visiting Schools Over Summer Vacation

A fun and easy college activity to do over the summer is to go online to colleges and sign up for “more information.” Often this will trigger mail.  You will receive lovely colorful brochures from each college you contact. And they are all so different!  Little books, posters, three-fold information guides... College brochures are almost like travel brochures.  They’re gorgeous and inviting.  They make you want to attend their school, of course.  At our house, we covered the back of the kitchen door with college posters.  That visual image kept us thinking through out the summer.  “Which do I like best?”

And as you’re thinking through that question, you might also be planning to visit a colleges this summer.  Seeing a campus is the best way to get to know your future school. Take the tour.  It will help you find your way around campus and make you feel like you belong. If the family is traveling, take a look at any school you can visit on the way whether it’s on your list or not.  All schools will help your process.  See a state school and a private.  Note the differences in the size of the buildings and the campus.  Note the intimacy of the gardens.  Find your outdoor study spot. 

         Some families use the summer to travel around the country to drop in at any school that suits them.  Others travel to see relatives.  Whichever way you go, organized or by-golly, seeing colleges is a wonderful idea. 

Even though the summer months offer fewer students on campus, you can still take the official tour and imagine what being a student there is like.  Even a negative experience is valuable.  You’ll know that you really don’t want to go to a school in a big city or live in a dorm that is right next to the football stadium. When you start making your list of schools, you’ll have a category of “likes” and “dislikes” to measure against. 

And if traveling is not in the realm of possibilities, collect college brochures and post them prominently.  See colleges now so you’ll know where to apply later!

--All the best from Perfectfitcollege.Net