Nothing comes as close to helping you decide if a certain college will be right for you as a visit to its campus.  Depending on the scope of your geographic search for colleges, visiting some or most of the colleges to which you apply could be difficult for you and your family.  But, when it is possible, try to visit the campus at least once before making your final decision to attend.

What do you do on a College Visit?

When you visit a college, you should take the tour of the campus offered by the admission office.  When you are planning your visit, you can find out the times of the tours.  Taking the "official" tour will give you a chance to see the college as it wants to present itself.  Your tour guide will likely be a current student, and someone who is probably very happy and doing well.

Most Admission Offices host group information sessions, either just before or just after the scheduled campus tours.  Find out if such a session is being conducted, and listen to what the admission officer has to say about the institution and the admission process.

If interviews are available, and if you are planning on getting an interview, you would want to schedule it around the tour and information session.

What else should you do on your visit?  You definitely want to give yourself time to see the campus through your on eyes.  Was there some place you wanted to visit that the tour did not?  Go there.  If you are with your parents, separate yourself from them and then compare notes when you get back together.  Just wandering around to get a feel for the place is invaluable.  You can learn a lot about an institution just by looking at the students, the professors, the administrators, the grounds, and the facilities.

Read the bulletin boards.  Look inside classrooms.  If you have an interest in athletics, or the arts, or science labs, check out those facilities.  Get a copy of the student newspaper.  Eat in the cafeteria with the students.  You will find most students very happy to spend a few minutes with you, answering your questions about their college.

Continue to a list of questions you might ask yourself or others on a campus visit.