Big changes are ahead. You're choosing your new "home away from home." You--and your parents--are making one of the biggest decisions of your life. Organizing the itinerary and driving to multiple campuses can be pretty intense.This decision affects all of you, so be respectful, keep your cool, and use your best communication skills.

"I often hear parents say that they've spent more time together with their child in the car on these visits than they had spent together in many years," says Nancy Hargrave Meislahn, dean of admission and financial aid at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. "For most families there are all sorts of tensions throughout the process, but in the end it's a real bonding moment. I think kids see their parents in a different light and vice versa."

Sarah Keefer, who has just completed her freshman year at Univer sity of Pittsburgh, worked closely with both her parents as she visited seven campuses. They started looking the summer after her junior year because she had spent the spring studying abroad. Although plenty of students are around in the summer at a huge school like University of Pittsburgh, both Sarah and her mother thought they would have gotten a more realistic view if they had visited while schools were in session.

"It's exciting to go on campus when lots of students are around," says Sarah's mother, Nancy Konopka. "It lets high school students get a better picture of themselves at that college."

Because Sarah's primary concern was to find a college with a strong nursing program, she was less concerned with seeing students in action. She also wanted to find a comfortable campus located in or near a big city.

"I like urban environments," says Sarah. "Cities offer a lot of diversity, which is different from what I had growing up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania."

Seeing the campuses in person definitely gave Sarah a view that went well beyond the catalogs and websites. One university in Pittsburgh seemed nice in the photographs, but in person it looked "gloomy," lacked green space, and felt crowded.

All in all, Sarah says that visiting with her parents "went pretty smoothly," and that she found out much more when her parents were with her compared to the campus visit she made on her own. Sarah and her parents even survived a grueling 26-hour round-trip drive to St. Louis.
Her mother says that planning was key. "Students have to be ready to tour," she says. "It helps to go on the Internet and read about the colleges. They also need to go through all the college mail once in a while and or-ganize it into no and maybe piles."

To get yourself ready for college touring, follow these steps:

1. Write Down Questions. After narrowing down your college choices, write questions you want answered, and make sure those questions aren't already answered online or in the literature. "When parents ask all sorts of questions that they could find the answers to on the Web, the tour can last up to two and a half hours, which is much too long," explains Konopka.


2. Schedule Ahead. Contact the admission office to schedule a visit--preferably when school is in session. "The mornings are the best, because it increases the chance that you'll be able to sit in on a class, and you'll get more of the flow of the campus," says David Lesesne, dean of admission at Sewanee: University of the South in Tennessee. Many campuses will conduct group tours, which can be very informative because you get to hear questions from other students and parents.


3. Map Out the Details. When you decide on schools that interest you, pull out maps and really calculate how long it will take to travel to those schools. Be sure to factor in traffic, especially during rush hours. If you have the time, try to arrange a stay overnight in a dorm, and coordinate several vis its in one area. "Don't plan to visit more than two campuses per day," Lesesne ad vises. "I've talked to fam ilies who say we're their 12th college in three days. Most students tune out by that point."


4. Compare Facilities.Check out the dorms (and their bathrooms), cafeterias, classrooms, library, athletic center, and any other buildings and rooms that you'll be using. Our checklist at www.careersandcolleges. com will help you compare facilities at different institutions.


5. Talk to Students. Want to know what a college is really like? Go to the source--the students. You may only have a chance to talk to a student guide, but Mike Frantz, dean of enrollment services at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, suggests a few questions you should try to ask current students:
   
   
   
   • How much do you study each day/week?
   • Give me examples of how you interact with your professors.
   • What have you done the last three weekends?
   • How and why did you choose this college?
   • Would you choose the same school again?
   
   Above all, get a sense of whether the students are happy.


6. Try Things Yourself. An official tour will show you what a college wants you to see. To get the unfiltered view, branch out on your own. Also, read through a school newspaper and skim the activities listed on bulletin boards.


7. Have An Eye For Safety. Esther Goodcuff, associate vice pres ident for enrollment management and student affairs at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, says that students should look for campus call boxes and outdoor lighting, as well as ask about crime statistics and security regulations for dorms and other buildings. Also check the safety of the surrounding community.


8. Do the Town. You're not just going to college, you're most likely moving to another town. Tour the area surrounding the campus. What is the community like? Are banks, movie theaters, and grocery stores nearby and within walking distance? Do you need a car, or is public transportation enough? What are the likely prospects for landing a job in the area?


9. Interview If you can. Most colleges don't require an interview, but an in-person meeting with a counselor can help you and the admission staff decide if the school is a good match. You may want to bring copies of your transcript and a list of activities so the admission officer can better evaluate you.


10. Review, Reflect, Reply. After returning home, write down your positive and negative impressions. A few follow-up actions may also help tip the scales in your favor. Laurie Kennedy, associate director of admission at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, recommends e-mailing thank-you notes to the admission staff and again expressing interest in the school.

By keeping in contact with admission offices, you can become a face and not just a name.

Article by Don Rauf and courtesy of www.careersandcolleges.com