Questions to Ask When Visiting A College Campus

Level 2 - Admissions 101

Welcome back!

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With that being said, let’s dive into our focus for today.

Many students and their families will be visiting colleges in the fall, and during these visits, each family will have the opportunity to ask questions on the tours.

That can sometimes be daunting - especially if you have no idea what to ask or what truly matters.

Today we’ll cut through the fluff and make a list of the 10 most important questions (in no particular order) we think you can ask.

1. What are the campus housing requirements and living arrangements?

You want to know whether all freshman are required to live on campus, and whether housing is guaranteed on campus for all four years of undergrad. Every college will be different, but you want to know whether you will need off-campus housing at any point in college.

2. What percentage of students find a job in their major within one year of graduation?

At the end of the day, you want to know that your kid is going to a college that where they will find employment. Every college’s office of career services is going to have this data. If they act as if this information is not there (or even worse, they do not actually track this), run away.

3. Are meal plans offered to students?

Another cost that parents often do not think of, many colleges may have a meal plan that is offered, but it may only be available for a fixed time. This can be a positive or negative, and you should consider if you have to pay for the plan or if you have the option to opt out of it.

4. What is the average financial aid package for students, and does it include loans and work study?

When you consider attending college, you will want to know what the financial aid packages are for students. Do they meet the full cost of attendance or do they tend to only meet partial need? Do they have a no-loans policy? Knowing this kind of information will help you know what the cost may be for you and your family.

5. What is the total cost of attendance?

Similar to question #4, you need to know how much it will cost to attend the college. When you ask for the total cost of attendance, you want to know tuition, fees, room/board, etc. Make sure to get that full breakdown so you have a total picture of what needs to be covered.

6. What services are available to help find internships, research positions, and jobs?

As a student, you will want opportunities to conduct research, get internships, and otherwise achieve some outcome after college.

Most colleges have some formal method of securing these positions, but is a good idea to know how much you will need to conduct your own search vs. compliment the schools’ existing services.

7. What services does the school’s student health and counseling center provide? Are those services free?

While the hope is that you will be able to go through the college experience and never need them, you do want to know what support services are available. Specifically, what are the health and counseling services like?

From a health perspective, is there a hospital that is on campus or one near by? Do they have an amnesty policy for underage drinking? And for mental health, what support will you find?

If you are going to go away from home, having these services ready and available can be the difference in getting through a potentially difficult time and needing to take time away from school.

8. What is the admissions process?

Make sure to ask what the full admissions process is - what is required in the application, do you have an interview, when are decisions communicated, etc.

Getting the information from the source helps you build out a timeline of what you need to have prepared by when, which is the key to staying organized in a chaotic application season.

9. What is the average class size?

The average class size is particularly important when you think of what environment will be best for your family. Not everyone does well in lecture hall setting with 1000 other students. But not everyone needs a class with only 3 other students.

The sooner you know the average class size, the sooner you can know other relevant information - like are these classes taught by professors or teaching assistants?

10. Are you happy here?

If you have a student guide, or get the opportunity to speak with current students, you want to know if they are truly happy at the college. If they are, ask them what makes them happy there? Is it the social life? The classes?

At the end of the day, you don’t want to go to a college where you will be unhappy. That is a recipe for disaster.

Hopefully these questions provide you a guide to ask questions on college interviews. Feel free to ask if you have any questions!