Palouse Pathways Scholar Jack Carper, Pullman High School Class of 2026, shares his thoughts and tips for visiting colleges.
How can you make the most out of a college visit?
First, always make sure to research the college beforehand. Learn more about what they offer, and see what programs you would be most interested in. For example, if you want to go into engineering, look more into the specific department to understand what the college experience would look like for you at that school; try to explore the department you are interested in while on the campus so you can get a better feel for it.
Pro tip: Many colleges offer tours or informational sessions about their specific programs, such as their engineering or honors programs, so definitely sign up for those if you are interested!
Also, make sure to always take a guided tour to be able to get a more in-depth look at the school and interact with a student. If you know someone who attends the school, reach out to them and see if they would be able to show you around.
Make sure to have questions prepared about the school based on your research beforehand to ask the tour guide. These should be questions about the specific college/university, about the programs or student life and such, and they should be specific and thoughtful. If Google can answer the question for you, it’s a bad question.
Finally, always tour colleges while they are in session. I understand it may be easier to go during a school break so you don’t miss time in school, but so much of the college tour is about your interactions and experience on the campus. The whole idea is to learn more about the school and envision yourself attending it. You want to be able to gauge the atmosphere: what sort of students attend this school, what is the general vibe (studious, more of a party school, etc), and most importantly, how do you FEEL about the school. What is your gut reaction? If you don’t feel positively about the school and view it as somewhere you could fit in and be happy, then it isn’t the school for you, and you cannot get a true impression of the school if the students are all away. And of course, have fun!
What was your most memorable College Visit?
My most memorable college visit was my visit to the University of Arizona. Specifically, I was impressed by the Honors program tour. An Honors program is a wonderful way to take a large school and turn it into a smaller community, allowing you to form close bonds with other driven students while also being able to take advantage of all the opportunities of a large campus. The University of Arizona, for example, has more than 45,000 students, but its honors college has just over 4,000, less than 10% of their total enrollment. I remember being extremely impressed by the structure and format of the Honors program offered at the University of Arizona–there was a dorm reserved exclusively for Honors college students, tucked away from the main campus but still well within walking distance, with special, smaller Honors classes offered on the ground floor of the dorm building! The tour allowed me to get a better understanding of what an Honors program could look like, and it allowed me to see myself attending a large school but still feeling connected to my peers.