Kristen BixbyWinter and spring school vacations are the best time to visit colleges. Waiting until the summer means that college campuses will be empty and quiet and hard to gauge. Waiting until fall of senior year means that you will be extremely busy and it may not happen.
If you just visited colleges, or are planning to soon, there are some important things you can do immediately following the visits that can help you out big time in the long run.
- Immediately after visiting a college, write down your impressions and favorite aspects of the school. If you plan to visit several schools at a time, it’s especially important that you do this right away, or the colleges may become jumbled in your head (Which one had the beautiful science labs? Which one had the awesome ice cream?).
- Do some personal reflection. Could you really see yourself at that school? What were the pros, and what were the cons (no school is perfect!)? What was it like to travel there? Be honest with yourself, and talk with a college counselor who can help you discern whether the college you visited is a good match for you.
- Adjust your list accordingly. After you do some soul-searching, think about what you really loved about each school, and try to find it in other schools. Or, if there was something you really didn’t like, take similar schools off your list. Just as it’s important to realize what you want, it’s equally important to realize what you don’t want.
- Schedule more visits. If we haven’t been clear enough, NOW is the time to visit colleges. You can’t apply until all the essays are written, and you can’t write essays until you know where you’re going to apply… it all starts with getting your “list” in order. (more on that in this previous blog) After you have adjusted your list, start scheduling more visits.
Scheduling college visits, and reflecting on them with students afterwards, are two things we enjoy doing with our students at Campus Bound. If a college counselor can help you through the college process, contact us today.