Why? Because facts, figures, and even the best websites will never give you the 3-D, personal experience of knowing how a particular campus feels to you, how the students seem to live their daily lives, or what the buzz of a particular café is like. For all of this—and more—you and your parents may want to exchange your computer mouse for a road map, find your way to the colleges and universities you’re interested in, and take a firsthand look.

The Internet, college guidebooks, and magazines like this one will help you sort out the places worth further investigation. But once you’ve developed that short list, it’s time to begin making some direct comparisons.

It’s important to make sure that you and your parents get the most out of these relatively short visits. After all, you’re trying to gather enough information in a day or less to help you decide where you want to spend four years!

As a student tour guide and later as an admissions associate and university administrator, I’ve frequently been asked to give advice to families as they plan for their campus visits. Here are ten suggestions to help you make the most of your time.

1. Plan ahead. Call the admissions office or visitor center to learn about when tours and admissions information sessions are available. Many people just “show up,” hoping there will be a guide available. These last-minute arrivals can often be accommodated, but at some colleges, there are limits to the number of people who can be seen each day. And although most schools have scheduled tours and other activities that are open to all, some campuses do require reservations for visits.

2. Timing is everything. When you call, you’ll also want to find out if your intended dates to visit coincide with any major campus events like commencement, or worse, opening weekend of the Fall semester. These weekends can be so busy that you won’t get the attention you need from anyone. Summer, even though it’s convenient for visitors, is also an atypical time when few students are around and the campus is not really in its “normal” mode of operation. Therefore, I recommend a visit during the academic year, when you can get the feel of the place in full swing.

Plan for at least half a day on campus, including a meal time. This will allow for a campus tour, a visit with an admissions representative, and some free time to chat with current students or to explore on your own.

3. Dress appropriately. You’ll be walking a lot, so wear comfortable shoes. And plan for the weather: obviously you’ll want to dress differently for a springtime visit to a college in southern California than for a February one in New Hampshire. When I was working in upstate New York, we had visitors on our campus every winter who hadn’t thought to bring hats or gloves. That kind of oversight can make a one-hour tour seem like an eternity!

Very few campuses these days are so formal that you need to wear a suit or tie—but you should check, just in case. Ask your college contact person for clothing recommendations. You’ll most likely be advised to wear whatever makes you comfortable. Remember, however, that the kind of clothing you wear helps create the image you aspire to.

4. Target your questions. You’ll have lots of them, so make sure you ask the right ones to the right people. Students, for example, will be better at answering your questions about the social life and dining hall food than admissions officers will. Likewise, very few students will be able to give you answers about financial aid and admissions requirements.

Since you’ll have some time to be on your own, you should be able to find an “expert” on just about any subject. Talk to a variety of people: coaches, advisors, admissions counselors, staffers, and students.

5. Dodge the stats! After the first few minutes of your first campus tour, you’ll find that much of the content is expressed as statistics. For example, “The library has this many zillion books” or “The student-faculty ratio is 3:1.” This isn’t particularly helpful to either parents or students in getting a feel for the college, but unfortunately, it is still the core of most campus tours.

What you need to know is whether the student leading the tour can find the books he or she needs in the library. Is the library staff helpful? Is the building open when students need to study late at night? And look beyond those favorable student-faculty ratio numbers: are classes taught by professors or by graduate teaching assistants? Does the tour guide find that the faculty members are available for extra help if needed? Do professors know students by name?

6. Try it yourself. This applies to everything from food to sports to classes. Why ask about how the food tastes when you can try a campus dining hall and form your own opinion? Find out how the softball team is by going to one of their games. See if you can check out the size and quality of classes by actually attending one—most campuses will allow visitors to sit in on certain courses.

7. Relax. The excitement of traveling to your top-choice colleges can cause a lot of stress, especially since you’ll probably be with your parents—and maybe even your little brother—for several days at a time. Try to relax, and remember that your parents are there because they care about the education you’ll receive. And don’t get upset with them if they ask what you think are ridiculous questions; all the other students in your group are in the same boat.

8. Don’t forget: you’ll be living there. You’re not just looking for a top-notch education from a school with a great faculty and a shiny fitness center. You’re choosing a place to live for the next four years. You should think about the kinds of things you like to do for fun. Will the campus make it easy to do those things? If you’re a rock climber, do you want an urban campus? If you love to go to the symphony, do you want to be in a rural setting?

Again, remember to consult the experts—in this case, the students. Their answers may surprise you. You may find that some rural campuses provide very affordable opportunities to attend theater productions, or that the most active ski club is in Manhattan (with frequent trips to the mountains, of course!).

At some point during your visit, try to spend a little time all by yourself. Walk around the quad. Chat with some students. Can you picture yourself living there?

9. Stay overnight. There’s no better way to get the feeling of being a student than pretending you are one for a day or two. Many campuses invite prospective students to stay with a current student in a dorm. Use this valuable opportunity to go to classes, meet lots of students, and find out about the daily routine, but be sure to check on any overnight stays well in advance—there are limited spaces, and they fill up quickly.

If your top-choice college doesn’t offer overnights, find out from your high-school guidance counselor if there are students from your school already attending the college. If so, one of them might be willing to host such a visit.

If you can’t stay overnight, you should still check out the living accommodations. After all, a good deal of your time will be spent in and around your living quarters—studying, eating, socializing, and, of course, sleeping.

Because of security and safety concerns, most dorms are now locked or guarded 24 hours a day. Your best bet for getting inside is to ask a student on campus to show you his or her room.

Once you explain that you’re thinking of attending next year, you’re also more likely to hear the “inside scoop”—the things no one talked about on the tour. Just keep in mind that every student’s experience is likely to be different.

10. Reflect and write. After each visit, take a moment to jot down a few of your thoughts about the visit. What impressed you the most? The least? These notes will later help you to remember which college was which and pull your thoughts together.

After you have finished touring the campuses on your list, it might be helpful to relax and to picture yourself as a student on each campus. Keep in mind that each campus is a busy place, with much more happening than you are able to experience in a single visit. When you look at the whole package—academics, size, location, mood, social life, sports, and so on—all the formal and informal data you collected should pay off.

Following at least some of these suggestions should lead you forward in choosing your college . . . and your new home.

Article by Joel Seligman and courtesy of www.careersandcolleges.com