College Campus Tour Red Flags What To Look For On A Visit

HomeCampus visitsCollege Campus Tour Red Flags: What To Look For On A VisitThis page may contain affiliate links.Oct 11, 2019A campus may appear to have it all. The best professors in a particular major. An active campus life. Beautifully, designed dorms. Championship sports. That is when you see a college on paper or online. But visit a campus, and an entire different picture might emerge. Sometimes, what you and your student research about a campus may not be exactly what greets you once you land on campus for a visit. In our Facebook group â€Å"Paying For College 101†, many parents have discussed â€Å"red flags†, or warning signs, to watch for when researching colleges and definitely to know before your student calls a campus home. Why a visit? Taking a tour of any college that your student is critical. While a campus tour seems like it would be a lovely experience that is sometimes far from the case. You need to see the place with your eyes, get a feel for the place and ask questions. It can be as simple as visiting a rural campus and deciding your child needs more city than country or a more complicated situation like crime on campus. What Should I Expect On A Tour Of A Campus? You should get a comprehensive tour of the campus. Some colleges have student tour guides that may be inadequately trained to highlight the best the campus has to offer. Make sure you have a guide who knows the campus and covers all ground. For example, your student may be very interested in astronomy, creative writing or engineering. The tour guide may focus on athletics and show sports facilities instead of classrooms. Many parents say that you can tell what a school values based on where guides take you on a tour. Colleges often host fairs for specific majors. Major fairs always should have faculty in attendance who can answer questions about courses, extracurricular groups connected to areas of study, and internship and career opportunities. When you visit a campus, eat cafeteria meals like the ones your student will eat, not a special event such as an open house when the food is likely catered. Make sure the meal plan meets you and your student’s expectations. If the food is inedible, you could spend a lot of money on fast food for your student. Want to get real insight into campus life? Read the college newspaper. Why? Because most college newspapers are uncensored by faculty and administrators. The newspaper can expose various issues on the campus, including crime, and students’ concerns. For example, one parent in our Facebook group asked college administrators about alcohol problems on campus. The administrators and tour guides played down any problems. But she discovered that the student newspaper discussed the issue fairly and openly. â€Å"Parents and students alike can learn so much from what is and what is not included in the student newspaper and/or other student publications,† Craig Meister, a college admissions consultant, says.† If none are available when on campus, try to find them online before or after your visit.† Do You Know About Dorm Problems and Campus Modernization? If your student plans to live in a dorm, make sure you check it out thoroughly. While many campuses have spent millions of dollars to modernize their dorms, others have not. Some still look as if they are in the 1960s or 70s. While that might seem quaint and even cool, it also can be deadly. Many college dorms have mold problems, and often colleges do not want to be forthright about the problem. Ask for a tour, talk to students who live in the dorm and research to see if any newspaper articles have been written about that particular campus. Mold can cause serious illnesses, and even death, so make sure your student is safe. Check to make sure the air conditioning and heating works sufficiently in dorms. Some colleges charge thousands of dollars for room and board but have yet to remodel them with modern luxuries. Also, many parents advise walking all over the campus with a tour guide. Yes, this may sound exhausting, but look to see how the grounds are kept and if trash cans are overflowing. Is the college really proud of its campus? Are you seeing in real life what you saw online or in a brochure? You also may assume – wrongly – that all campuses are wired with high-speed internet. That might not be the case, especially if your student plans on attending a rural college or one near mountains, or in an area of the state where internet connection is lacking. What Else Should I Know About A College Campus? Meister says parents can’t know enough about the college that their student will attend. He also says you must ask about building security. Can anyone enter? How safe are the dorms? Are security procedures in place but not enforced? Who is responsible for security on campus – school police force, a city/town police force, a combination of both and/or a private security company? Another critical stop on any tour, Meister says, is a visit to the career services department. You’re sending your student to earn a degree and get a job. Ask if graduates have jobs six months or a year after graduating. Find out how those jobs are broking my major or industry. Just as important? Academic support services like tutoring. â€Å"Parents should try to determine how accessible all these support services are on the campuses they visit,† Meister says. Parents should also think about their students’ health. â€Å"While no parent wants their children to have physicalor mental health challenges while in college, its wise for parents to learn as much as possiblewhile on campus about a colleges health services program(s),† Meister says. â€Å"Ask to see facilities or speak with those who administer the program in order to determine how accessible it will be for your student.† Don’t forget to take plenty of notes and photos on each campus visit. If you don’t get what you expect on a tour, talk to the college admissions office. If they don’t seem willing to assist, that college may not be the best fit for your student.