Looking at colleges? A help guide

[libraryfreak]

While it’s fresh in my mind, I thought I’d put together a list of questions you may want to ask when you are touring colleges.

First, I highly recommend visiting colleges you are considering applying to. An overnight visit by the student is even better. Attend classes. Eat on campus.

Questions to ask:
1. When they tell you that the average student graduates with $15,000 worth of loans, don’t you believe that’s the total cost for the family. Ask them what the average parent loan is. Students can only borrow so much.
2. What are the vegetarian / vegan options on campus. Also Kosher. Even if you don’t eat Kosher, it will give you an idea of the diversity on campus.
3. How many semesters does it take the average student to graduate. Schools are overflowing and many have trouble getting into basic classes – you can’t begin the BIO sequence till you get into BIO 101, and if you don’t get in freshman year first semester you’re already behind.
4. What is the alcohol policy on campus? In my childs school, campus security are not sworn officers. This means they will not arrest you. My philosophy on college drinking is this: if my child is drunk and throwing up, my number one concern for her is that she doesn’t get alcohol poisoning. I want her roommate to be able to call security w/o being afraid of getting her in trouble. Please please please call if she’s sick. Don’t hesitate.
5. How often can you switch meal plans.
6. Is there a core curriculum?
7. How many kids stay on campus weekends? Is this a suitcase college? What is there to do weekends? If a student is giving a tour, ask him/her what specifically they did last weekend.
8. What are the library hours? Is it open 24 hours during finals? Will security escort you back to your dorm?
9. What is the #1 crime on campus. My daughters campus – bike theft.
10. What is the greek life like? What if you don’t participate, will you feel awkward?’
11. Is the whole campus wirless?
12. Where are the computer labs, and what are the hours.
13. How many kids do study away/study abroad.
14. How many college credits can a freshman bring with them. Many kids these days do the dual credit. I think the most is usually 30, but I’m not for sure. Does the college give credit for a 4 or 5 on the AP exams?
15. Parking – are 1st years allowed to have a car on campus? When they are allowed, how much is the parking permit. Ask specific questions. One college told me it was $300. I then asked if that was for the year – it was not. A quarter. So now we’re at $900 for 3 semesters (Sept – May). Ask if that guarantees them a parking spot on campus. I know of a college that sells more permits than there are parking spots.

I think that’s all I can think of for now. Hope this helps someone.

 

[ctinct]

I always asked the tour guide what their least favorite thing about the school was.

Towards the end of our 15 visits, one of the tour guides happened to mention the average ratio of students to toilets and showers. I figured they must have mentioned it because it was a good number, so I made a point of asking on subsequent tours. The tour guides usually could at least tell us how many rooms, and then we could count the # of toilets and showers in the dorm we happened to be touring. Not something most people think of, but pretty important.

 

[msmayor]

With respect to the debt item at number 1, I don't think its really a relevant question.

The amount of debt others has does not give you an idea of how much debt YOUR student specifically may end up carrying. Its purely a function of how much the student/parents are able and willing to pay out of savings and current income. What others can pay really isn't representative of what you will have to pay.

The maximum Stafford Loans available to a student are $27,000 over a four-year course of study: $5,500 in freshman year, $6,500 in sophomore year and $7,500 in each of junior and senior years. $19,000 of that total can be subsidized.

 

[libraryfreak]

I always asked the tour guide what their least favorite thing about the school was.

What kind of answers did you get?

 

[MrsPete]

We're touring colleges too, and I have a couple comments:


I don't really care about the average student's loans. I care about the total cost of the school (including hidden fees -- for example, the parking fee you mentioned), and I can compare it to my savings and her likely scholarships.

Along with the types of meals available, find out whether your meal plan gives X number of meals per week or X number of meals per semester. Per semester is better because they "don't expire" at the end of each week. One week the student may have a light study load, may have parents visiting, or may be feeling sick -- any of these things might mean missing a couple meals. I'd rather have those meals available the following week.

Compare the costs of the meal plans carefully. For example, at the college we visited last week the difference between 15 meals per week and 20 meals per week was only something like $200/semester. 5 additional meals each week x 14 weeks in a semester for $200 sounds like a bargain to me.

It seems that most meal plans in our area tend to be 10-20 "meal swipes" per week (meaning all you can eat in the big cafeteria) plus $200-300 declining balance (meaning that you can spend that money on sodas and things at the smaller venues). Be sure what type of plan your school offers.

If you have the declining balance, find out where the students can spend that money on campus. For example, some schools allow students to use that declining balance for laundry or supplies in the bookstore.

I think it'd be unusual for a college to allow you to switch meal plans any time except at the beginning of a new semester.

I've asked about the #1 crime on campus, and the answer I keep getting is laptop theft. One officer told me that students should have a locking computer cable. Sounds like good advice to me.

As you walk around, look for emergency phones. Some campuses have actual phones that you pick up, others have buttons that you push. Either way, these phones connect you directly to the campus police /give them your location, even if you can't speak.

We've been asking a couple random students how well the wireless works. Having wireless and having GOOD wireless aren't the same thing.

We haven't been asking about computer labs -- don't all college students have laptops? But we have been asking about printing support (because haven't we all been stuck unexpectedly without ink or with another printer problem?). One place we saw bragged on a computer/printer in the lobby of each dorm . . . but when we visited, it had an "out of order" sign on it.

AP credits: Be sure to be clear on whether your college gives credit for passing the AP English test . . . or whether they just let you move to the 2nd level of the course. This is a choice made by the college.

Get a printout of your student's degree requirements. We were surprised when we did this. My daughter intends to go into medicine, and I had been telling her, "Take all the Biology you can." Looking at the courses she'll be required to take in college, it looks like Chemistry will serve her better. Also, we figured out that she'd be better off taking Statistics rather than Calculus. I'm glad we discovered these things NOW while she's still a Junior.

Ask about the cost of international studies. Do most students do a whole semester abroad, or do they do short study programs during breaks? Does their financial aid cover this?

Ask about around-town transportation. Busses? Keep your eyes open to see whether students are congregating at the bus stops. That'll tell you whether the system is efficient or not.

Ask where the freshman parking is located. At one school we visited, freshmen are allowed to have cars, but the freshman parking is literally 2 miles away from campus, and they have to take the bus to get there. (I understand why -- they are landlocked, and I'd give the better parking to the upperclassmen too.) She surprised me: This situation exists at the school in which she's most interested, and she's decided that the public transportation at this school is so good that she'd be happy enough to forego a car on campus her freshman year rather than endure the 2-mile parking lot.

If your college sells more parking stickers than it has parking spots, this isn't automatically a bad thing. I attended a very large school that had a day-student population and a night-student population. It really wasn't a problem; the parking lot was rarely 3/4 full.

It seems that most colleges want freshmen to live on campus. Usually that means that freshmen have priority when it comes to housing. Ask whether sophomores (and older) are likely to get on-campus housing. When I was in school, some schools were short on housing and older students had to "go through lottery" every year to see if they'd get housing. If the smattering of schools we've visited thusfar is a truthful indication, this isn't the big problem it was back when I was in college -- I can only assume the colleges have built lots of dorms in the 20 years since I graduated.

Ask about "special interest housing". It might go by different names, but typical special interest housing might include: Outdoors houses, which would be made up of students who all enjoy hiking, etc. Mega-fan houses, which would be for students who are very "into" school sports. International houses for students from other countries. Male-only housing. Female-only housing. Houses for students who are environmentally-oriented. Wellness houses. Extra study hours houses. My daughter's interested in living either Honors housing or the Black & Gold floor (black and gold are the school colors).

What are students allowed to have in their dorms? Refrigerators and microwaves are pretty standard. Beyond that, small appliances vary widely. Are bunk beds provided? If not, are loft beds allowed? Do the dorms have an in-room sink?

Don't look at just the dorm rooms themselves. Do the dorms have nice gathering spaces for student gatherings or study sessions? Places for a student to go type a late-night paper when his roommate wants to go to sleep early? Bike racks and seating outside? Are the laundry facilities adequate for the number of students living in the dorm? Does the room come with cable TV? What security and support services does the dorm provide?

You probably should look into their career placement services. And ask what percentage of their students are working in their field within a year of graduation.

What do books tend to cost each semester? Does the school offer a rental program?

What's the proximity of the Health Department to on-campus housing? What services do they provide to students?

Pick up a student newspaper. It'll give you an idea of what the student body is like.

Before you go, study the school's online information. Many of the questions you want to know (cost of tuition, etc.) is provided online. You'll have enough questions to ask without covering what's readily available. I get kind of irritated when we're on a group tour and people ask questions like, "What's the cost of a basic meal plan?" or "What's the deadline for applications for admission?" Those things are easily found online.

 

[kacaju]

great things here thank you!!

 

[RunningGirl]

We like to ask about average class size. It's quite a wide range!

Also, do professors teach all classes or do they have grad students/tas teaching classes.

Percentage of students who live on-campus.

Are freshmen guaranteed on-campus housing.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

My kids are both fairly recent college graduates.

One thing my DH asked on college tours was whether the dorms had sprinkler systems.

 

[libraryfreak]

OP here. Thanks MrsPete - your suggestions were excellent! So were others, I just can't remember who you were.

I'd like to say the only reason I mentioned the FinAid thing was that we toured a $50,000 college and during the information session they said the average student graduated with $17,000 worth of debt. I was clueless at this point, and took it to mean they would give us enough financial aid to cover all but $17,000 for four years of college. I mean I must of been CLUELESS! It literally took me a month to ask the other question, what is the average parent debt. For which they told me they don't track that statistic. I know why now!

I have since learned that Stats is aka "how to lie with numbers".

Mrs. Pete - my daughter is premed also, and I learned the other day that med schools now require 5 semesters of Chemistry, 2 Biology, 2 math and 2 english. Is this what you've heard too?

 

[punkin]

Mrs. Pete - my daughter is premed also, and I learned the other day that med schools now require 5 semesters of Chemistry, 2 Biology, 2 math and 2 english. Is this what you've heard too?

Yes, one year Gen CHem, One year Organic, One semester biochem, One year Bio, One year Calculus, 2 years Engl.

Of course some individual schools may have slightly different requirements.

 

[cruisnfamily]

We're touring colleges too, and I have a couple comments:


I don't really care about the average student's loans. I care about the total cost of the school (including hidden fees -- for example, the parking fee you mentioned), and I can compare it to my savings and her likely scholarships.

Along with the types of meals available, find out whether your meal plan gives X number of meals per week or X number of meals per semester. Per semester is better because they "don't expire" at the end of each week. One week the student may have a light study load, may have parents visiting, or may be feeling sick -- any of these things might mean missing a couple meals. I'd rather have those meals available the following week.

Compare the costs of the meal plans carefully. For example, at the college we visited last week the difference between 15 meals per week and 20 meals per week was only something like $200/semester. 5 additional meals each week x 14 weeks in a semester for $200 sounds like a bargain to me.

It seems that most meal plans in our area tend to be 10-20 "meal swipes" per week (meaning all you can eat in the big cafeteria) plus $200-300 declining balance (meaning that you can spend that money on sodas and things at the smaller venues). Be sure what type of plan your school offers.

If you have the declining balance, find out where the students can spend that money on campus. For example, some schools allow students to use that declining balance for laundry or supplies in the bookstore.

I think it'd be unusual for a college to allow you to switch meal plans any time except at the beginning of a new semester.

I've asked about the #1 crime on campus, and the answer I keep getting is laptop theft. One officer told me that students should have a locking computer cable. Sounds like good advice to me.

As you walk around, look for emergency phones. Some campuses have actual phones that you pick up, others have buttons that you push. Either way, these phones connect you directly to the campus police /give them your location, even if you can't speak.

We've been asking a couple random students how well the wireless works. Having wireless and having GOOD wireless aren't the same thing.

We haven't been asking about computer labs -- don't all college students have laptops? But we have been asking about printing support (because haven't we all been stuck unexpectedly without ink or with another printer problem?). One place we saw bragged on a computer/printer in the lobby of each dorm . . . but when we visited, it had an "out of order" sign on it.

AP credits: Be sure to be clear on whether your college gives credit for passing the AP English test . . . or whether they just let you move to the 2nd level of the course. This is a choice made by the college.

Get a printout of your student's degree requirements. We were surprised when we did this. My daughter intends to go into medicine, and I had been telling her, "Take all the Biology you can." Looking at the courses she'll be required to take in college, it looks like Chemistry will serve her better. Also, we figured out that she'd be better off taking Statistics rather than Calculus. I'm glad we discovered these things NOW while she's still a Junior.

Ask about the cost of international studies. Do most students do a whole semester abroad, or do they do short study programs during breaks? Does their financial aid cover this?

Ask about around-town transportation. Busses? Keep your eyes open to see whether students are congregating at the bus stops. That'll tell you whether the system is efficient or not.

Ask where the freshman parking is located. At one school we visited, freshmen are allowed to have cars, but the freshman parking is literally 2 miles away from campus, and they have to take the bus to get there. (I understand why -- they are landlocked, and I'd give the better parking to the upperclassmen too.) She surprised me: This situation exists at the school in which she's most interested, and she's decided that the public transportation at this school is so good that she'd be happy enough to forego a car on campus her freshman year rather than endure the 2-mile parking lot.

If your college sells more parking stickers than it has parking spots, this isn't automatically a bad thing. I attended a very large school that had a day-student population and a night-student population. It really wasn't a problem; the parking lot was rarely 3/4 full.

Bolding mine.

Great advice!

One school we toured, if you lived on campus, you were allowed to have a car on campus but you could only park by the dorms. You were not allowed to drive over to where the classes were located and park in that lot until after 5pm. And it was quite a walk! They said lots of kids had bikes they used but they also ran a shuttle bus. This was something I would not even have thought about, thinking "she'll have her car" but if she can't park anywhere on campus except by the dorms during the day, that's worth thinking about.

Those emergency phones you mention...very important! they were all over one of the campuses we visited and it made for a very safe walk back to the dorms from the campus as you knew you were never far from one of those buttons. Also, they quoted the response time and I don't remember it now but it was quick!
And, this was very interesting, in all the dorm rooms, right next to the light switch they had a cord to pull to summon campus security. Right there in every single bedroom! I think that's fabulous! Of course they had fines in place for people pulling them accidentally or as a joke and they said it didn't happen often, the kids took it seriously. That's quicker than calling 911, just pull a string! Loved it!

 

[msmayor]

OP here. Thanks MrsPete - your suggestions were excellent! So were others, I just can't remember who you were.

I'd like to say the only reason I mentioned the FinAid thing was that we toured a $50,000 college and during the information session they said the average student graduated with $17,000 worth of debt. I was clueless at this point, and took it to mean they would give us enough financial aid to cover all but $17,000 for four years of college. I mean I must of been CLUELESS! It literally took me a month to ask the other question, what is the average parent debt. For which they told me they don't track that statistic. I know why now!

I have since learned that Stats is aka "how to lie with numbers".

Mrs. Pete - my daughter is premed also, and I learned the other day that med schools now require 5 semesters of Chemistry, 2 Biology, 2 math and 2 english. Is this what you've heard too?

A better question to ask would be how much the average institutional merit aid to students is, as well as the range offered (min-max).

I stress the term INSTITUTIONAL because that is generally grant money that does NOT need to be paid back and is based on a student's academic achievement, NOT ability to pay. It doesn't include any federal funds you may or may not be eligible for.

If you simply ask the average aid figure, they can very well provide the answer "we meet full need with aid" and have you go away thinking "Great! It will be no problem to pay".

What they won't tell you is what I've said here before: the estimated family contribution figure that is computed with a set formula is going to be MUCH higher than you think it will be. You will look at that number and wonder how in the world you will come up with that money. In addition, 'meeting full need' can mean offering nothing more than loans, because loans ARE considered financial aid.

So ask about MERIT aid...that which is not dependent on your need.

 

[bfeller]

A lot of colleges/universities are located in small towns. So the one question that we always asked was what cell phone company was the most reliable. You would be surprised when it is usually just 1 or 2. This way you can make sure that your student has that lined up before going to college there. Nothing worse than no being able to contact your child.

 

[SC Minnie]

Thanks for all this. We went to look at 2 colleges over the weekend (DD is a junior). One had an open house and the other we just walked around since DD had never been to that city (the college is in the city). We did ask a lot of the questions at the open house that were mentioned here.

Another question I asked of the students was- How cliquish is the school? and how much to they encourage the more shy kids to get involved? I did this because DD can be shy at times and not join things unless someone invites her, she isn't one to go to club by herself. This was a very small college.

 

[erincon23]

My DS is currently a college freshman, but is leaving his school at the end of the semester to take a semester off and then transfer to another school (yet to be determined) because he is changing majors. So he's going through this a second time -- and feels like he's much more prepared. Things we've learned:

- At your top choice schools, make an appointment to meet with an advisor in the department you think you want to go into (not just the admissions counselor). You can tell a lot about the school's philosophy and dedication to student success just by the reaction you get in trying to set the meeting up! If they're welcoming, set up a visit into a classroom, talk about the services they have available to help a student succeed at school AND once they graduate, you probably have a good school. If they tell you they don't do that, just give you a cursory meeting, or seem like it's a bother, think twice about enrolling there.

- Ask to tour a dorm room, if it isn't on the basic tour (some schools have it on their tour, some don't!).

- Meal Plan -- Mrs.Pete mentioned number of meals -- keep in mind that not all schools have a number of meals plan. Many are going to a dollar amount plan -- a certain amount per week is available. When they use that up during the week, it's gone. Our school offers three levels of dollar plans, plus a "debit" card type of thing that can be used for food, laundry, copying, and several off-campus restaurants. If the school does this type of plan, does unused money rollover? Ours is use it or lose it within one week, so you're better getting a lower plan and supplementing with the "debit card" funds.

- If your child is unsure of what they want to major in, ask about support for undecideds. One school we toured has a fantastic career exploration program, with a goal of placing a student in a major by the end of freshman year. Other school just offer casual advising.

- Suggest that your student check out schools based not only on what major they think they want, but also on what they think a second choice might be. That might have saved our son a lot of hassle -- his current school doesn't offer a program anywhere near what he now knows he wants to do.

- If your student is in performing arts, there's a whole other set of questions to ask. How many class days do you estimate the student will miss due to off-campus performances? My son's BF, who made it into the school's highest jazz band,which tours, has had so many days off campus that he just found out he won't get credit for his English class and will have to take it again. Where are practice rooms? Is there a performing arts dorm? (believe me, it makes a difference!)

Good luck, all!

 

[ctinct]

What kind of answers did you get?

Sometimes we got the kind of answer you would give if asked your weakness at a job interview. For example, "There's just TOO much to do here," or something stupid like "I don't like the snow." Really? You ARE in upstate New York.

Most of the time, we did get thoughtful, candid answers, though. I must say, a lot of the tour guides give it careful consideration before they answered. We got things that ranged "I didn't like that we had to take two semesters of a foreign language" to "I wish I had had more time to explore courses outside my major--I had a lot of courses I had to take, leaving little time for anything else" to dislike of the school calendar (starting a little later than most) to the humorous "I wish someone on this campus had kicked my butt outta here, because we have such a good study abroad program, and I regret not taking advantage of it." If it was a small group and we had time to talk privately with the tour guide, I would also sometimes ask about favorite things. That's one of the reasons my daughter picked her #1` school. The tour guide mentioned that nearly all of her professors had taken a personal interest in their students, to the point of having picnics and such at their houses, calling if students missed more than one class, etc.

Some of the other questions on this thread are great! Wish I had thought of them during our visits.

 

[MrsPete]

OP here. Thanks MrsPete - your suggestions were excellent! So were others, I just can't remember who you were.

I'd like to say the only reason I mentioned the FinAid thing was that we toured a $50,000 college and during the information session they said the average student graduated with $17,000 worth of debt. I was clueless at this point, and took it to mean they would give us enough financial aid to cover all but $17,000 for four years of college. I mean I must of been CLUELESS! It literally took me a month to ask the other question, what is the average parent debt. For which they told me they don't track that statistic. I know why now!

I have since learned that Stats is aka "how to lie with numbers".

Mrs. Pete - my daughter is premed also, and I learned the other day that med schools now require 5 semesters of Chemistry, 2 Biology, 2 math and 2 english. Is this what you've heard too?

Sounds like that school was doing some "lying with numbers" with the 17K figure!

My daughter's not going into pre-med -- I think I didn't word that well. She plans to start out with the intention of earning a BS RN, and then she is going to get a nursing specialty masters . . . or she'll go the PA route. She's not sure, so I was just very generic when I said "medicine". Different schools will require different specifics, and I think I've seen less math and English.

A better question to ask would be how much the average institutional merit aid to students is, as well as the range offered (min-max).

I'm reading a book about college money right now, and I'm learning a great deal.

A lot of colleges/universities are located in small towns. So the one question that we always asked was what cell phone company was the most reliable. You would be surprised when it is usually just 1 or 2. This way you can make sure that your student has that lined up before going to college there. Nothing worse than no being able to contact your child.

Another little detail that's on our checklist: What ATM is on campus? Even if you do all your banking with Wachovia, if Nation's Bank is right there by the cafeteria, it'd be better to open your child's checking account with them.

- At your top choice schools, make an appointment to meet with an advisor in the department you think you want to go into (not just the admissions counselor). You can tell a lot about the school's philosophy and dedication to student success just by the reaction you get in trying to set the meeting up! If they're welcoming, set up a visit into a classroom, talk about the services they have available to help a student succeed at school AND once they graduate, you probably have a good school. If they tell you they don't do that, just give you a cursory meeting, or seem like it's a bother, think twice about enrolling there.

I think one big reason my daughter became smitten with her current #1 college choice is that at an Open House we happened to meet the department head . . . and she invited us to come over and see the nursing department. She said they had nursing students waiting to speak to potential freshmen, and they wanted to show off their department /equipment. By the time we ended up over there, the department head was there too. She didn't remember my daughter's name, but she came up to her and said, "I'm so glad you found your way over here! Let me show you some things." No one at any other college has been so interested in us.

I made my daughter write her a letter the next week saying how much she'd enjoyed meeting her . . . and saying that she'll be applying for the Chancellor's Scholarship next year!

- Suggest that your student check out schools based not only on what major they think they want, but also on what they think a second choice might be. That might have saved our son a lot of hassle -- his current school doesn't offer a program anywhere near what he now knows he wants to do.

That's one reason I went to a large school. I wasn't sure what I wanted to study, and I wanted to try to avoid transferring.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Hope this helps someone.

You bet it does! Thanks for posting this.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

You bet it does! Thanks for posting this.

And all of the rest of the posters, too! It is overwhelming, isn't it? I appreciate all of your experiences.

 

[libraryfreak]

I made my daughter write her a letter the next week saying how much she'd enjoyed meeting her . . . and saying that she'll be applying for the Chancellor's Scholarship next year!

I think that was an excellent idea.