Hey there. It's Dr. Bernstein, the president and founder of Get Yourself Into College,
and today I want to introduce you to one very important thing you should do when you visit
college campuses--something that you can do to make your visits more meaningful and interesting
and which can, in turn, help you increase your chances of earning admission to the right
schools. . .so stay tuned.
Okay, as you know campus tours and visits are really helpful in terms of giving you
a sense of the environment at a school and can be an important way of demonstrating your
interest in particular schools. Did you know that some colleges keep track of visits and
contacts and use this information at some point in the admissions process? They do.
Nevertheless, there is a problem with many information sessions and campus tours--one
that can make it hard for you to use your visits to your advantage.
First of all, many information sessions tend to provide you with a lot of the same facts
you can easily find on the college's website. So I want you to read the information provided
on the colleges' admissions pages before you visit. During your visit, you don't want to
be swamped with the obvious. You want to listen for any new, insider information the admissions
officer provides during your session.
Another problem is that the current students who usually lead the campus tours tend to
focus on showing you buildings, providing you with insights into the social life of
the school, and telling you stories--some of which are true and some of which tend towards
the mythical. When I was on extensive campus tour last summer, I was really surprised by
how little discussion there was about the actual academic life of the school.
The BIG problem is that if you don't take the right approach, you could wind up leaving
your visit with a very superficial sense of the school, which is problematic because you
want to choose a school that's a good fit for you academically as well as socially and
you're also spending time and money visiting schools, so you might as well make the most
of your investment. Plus, it's possible that you'll have to write a supplemental essay
describing why you feel this college is a good fit for you.
And guess what?
Admissions officers aren't that interested in hearing why you love the feel of the campus,
the school's sense of team spirit, or the diversity of the city in which it's located.
. .unless those details are specifically connected to your academic interests or your major extracurricular
interests or somehow absolutely crucial to your learning process. I'm not saying you
can't mention those things. . .it's just that for most of you and for most colleges. . .that's
not what you should be writing about in your supplemental essays.
Colleges want to know how you see yourself benefitting from the specific academic opportunities
available in your areas of interest.
So what you're probably noticing is that there's this disconnect between what you need to do
in your supplemental essays and what you usually learn about in your information session and
campus tour.
What can you do?
Before you visit a college--ideally before you even choose a date to visit--I want you
to go to the college's website and find some classes that sound interesting to you and
then contact the professor to see if you can sit in on his or her class. Head over to my
blog if you want to get step-by-step instructions for the best ways to find classes and reach
out to professors.
Sitting in on a class--or even a few classes--can provide you with a much more in-depth and
valuable sense of the schools you're visiting. For instance, if you sit in on a class offered
within your potential major, you'll get to see a professor in action and get a feel for
what classes in the department are like. You can even follow up with the professor afterwards
if you have questions or want to learn more about the material, his or her research, and
the department in general.
There's so much more I want to share with you about how to set up class visits and make
the most of your campus visit, so head over to my blog if you want to learn more. I've
got a link to it in the description box beneath this video.
So that's it for now.
As always, if you liked this video, I'd love it if you liked it, left me a comment or question,
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Take care. Bye!