FAQ #3: Should I go on a college tour with my parents, with friends or on my own?

ANSWER: There are positives and negatives for each choice. You and your parents need to decide which choice is best for you.

Parents: If you go with your parents, they can help take care of a lot of the hassles such as transportation, motels or Bed and Breakfast reservations, as well as parking and paying for different things. Students who get along with their parents are likely to enjoy sharing college trips with mom and dad, including their different impressions.

Some students fear that their parents will be “too visible” during tours, information sessions and the like. If you decide to visit a college with one or both parents, it’s probably a good idea to talk about expectations and also decide in advance what you will do on your own and with one another.

Know that college interviews are for students only.

Friends Sans Their Families: Going with a friend or a few friends on a college trip sounds great. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it’s not, depending on who your friends are. If you are very compatible with a friend or two and have traveled with them before, then you will probably know if they will be good college visit companions.

A college trip is different from a vacation. It is very important that you work out from the beginning what your expectations are. For example, each person should articulate how much time he/she wants to spend at a college? Determine what exactly each of you wants to do while you’re on campus. Will you spend all of your time together or have time for individual pursuits? How do you want to spend your evenings? Does one of you want to spend time with students talking about ideas while the other wants to party? These are important questions to discuss in advance because your goals may be very different from your friends’.

On Your Own: Some students prefer to visit colleges on their own. They are usually people who are used to traveling and doing things independently. One important part of planning a trip on your own is to make arrangements for who to meet up with while at a college. Friends, friends of the family, friends of friends, former students at your school, or strangers that the Admissions Office introduces you to are a few of the options. Just because you travel alone doesn’t mean you have to be alone while visiting a college.

adMISSION POSSIBLE® TIP! No matter who you are with, it is a good idea to have time alone to just wander around, sit and observe, and soak in the atmosphere of a college.

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In summary, visiting a campus is the very best way of knowing whether it is where you want to go to college. It can also an adventure and a way of having a great time. Thinking through what you want to do while visiting a college is the best way of insuring that you have a good experience.