Millikin visit coordinator offers insight into college tours
Taking a college campus tour can make all the difference in helping make the right decision when it comes to selecting a school.
Before going on a college visit, do you think about what type of visit you want to have or what you want to get out of the visit? Are you looking for general information or wanting specific details about a particular program? We caught up with Shelby Baum, visit and communications coordinator in the Office of Admission at Millikin University, to get some advice on how to get the most out of your college tour.
Baum:
Before going on a college visit, I think it's really important for the student to think about what type of visit they want to have and what they want to get out of it. Are they just looking for general information, or do they want really specific details about a particular program? Do they want to see the whole campus, or just specific facilities within the major they're considering?
There are different levels of campus visits/tours; from large-scale visit day programs to smaller, more intimate individual visits. I have found that a lot of students prefer the large visits when they're just beginning their visit process because it's a great way to get a lot of general information about all areas of the institution. They can really get a feel for the school as a whole.
Once students have done their larger visits – small, individual visits are great for their second time on campus where they can really hone in on what they want to do during their college career. They can have lunch with a student, meet one-on-one with a professor, sit in on a class; knowing what they are looking for in a visit is what really helps ensure they make the most of their time on campus.
Above all, students need to ask questions. No matter how silly they think their questions might be, they need to ask about the things that are most important to them.
Make a list of the top 10 things they want to know about each school they visit and make sure they do not leave without all of those questions answered.
Millikin Campus Visit
Millikin University hosts individual campus visits all summer and offers tours at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Millikin is also offering two large-scale campus visit days on Friday, July 20 and Friday, August 10. Students can sign-up for a campus visit below.