A Parent's Guide to Visiting College Campuses

When your child is almost out of high school, there will come a time when you start to make the college visits. These visits are important because you want to make sure you and your child pick the right college for him or her. College visits are usually quite short, so you need to make sure you find out all the information you need in a very short amount of time. When I went to my first few college visits with my son, I left feeling like I still didn't know enough information. Here is a guide that will help you make sure you find out everything you need to know in the short amount of time that you have.

Ask lots of questions. There is no question that is too dumb. If you want to know anything be sure to ask. Make sure you know exactly, where everything is on the campus. Also make sure you find out where the popular off campus places are. Don't feel like you need to be quiet and take the standard tour, it is important to any questions that pertain to you and your student answered.

Find out if you can sit in on a class. Often colleges will let you sit in on a class. If you can chose what class be sure to pick one that your student might be taking, a class from their major would be a great choice. This is a important thing to do because it gives you a feel for how the college is ran, but it also gives your child a sense of what college is going to be like. Often when you sit in on a class you can get a sense for the students at the college, and how your child would fit in.

Bring a notebook. You will be visiting a lot of different places, and finding out a lot of different information. You want to make sure you keep all your facts straight. This way when you get home you will better be able to compare the different colleges and you will be able to remember all the little facts about each one.

Make sure you try the food. I know this sounds quite silly, because who is going to decide a college by its food. This can be important because your child is going to be spending so much time here this is the main place they will be eating. It will make your child feel much more comfortable when it is time to go off to college, f they know that they will find what they like in the cafeteria.

Be sure to check out the dorms. Not everyone thinks about this but this is where you child will be spending a large majority of their time. It is nice to see what different things each school has to offer. Also if you child is planning on pledging a fraternity or sorority, check to see if you can see the frat house. Often some of the fraternity's or sorority's are very generous with their help on touring the college. I know some fraternity's will offer to let you stay the night with them so you can get a better feel for the campus.

If you can take in a college football game or other sporting event. This is not only a great chance to have fun and relax, but it is a good time to see how the student life is. This will be a great chance for your son or daughter to see if they think they will fit in with the students at the college.

My last tip is the most important one, be sure to have fun. This is important because while you are making a important decision about your child's future, you are also spending very special quality time with them. This is a great opportunity to get to know more about your child and have a fun time. Just remember no matter what college your child chooses there are going to be a lot of ups and downs over the next four years.