I Want to Visit Colleges on My Own Terms!

I Want to Visit Colleges on my Own Terms!

With two high school seniors considering college, my husband and I found our mailboxes full of colorful brochures extolling the virtues of various colleges. It seems as if they all have athletics, intramurals, small classes, smart professors and the best residence halls in the country. Wow. The decision was going to be hard, so we began to look on their websites to get more detail. Not so easy since the web also is put together by the university's marketing staff or, in many instances, expensive ad agencies subsidized by--you guessed it--tuition dollars!

Armed with a lot of cynicism, I began to try to schedule visits. After all, seeing is believing. I discovered that was not so easy either. First of all, we both work and our kids are in school--duh! I tried several universities and was told, generally, the same thing. Tours are scheduled at THEIR convenience. Most said you would sit in a large room with 50 or so of your closest friends, whom you have never met, to watch more propaganda--the college video. Oh, and a university representative would be there to answer questions. No way could I bring myself to monopolize the session with all the questions I have!

After the video, you go on a college tour. Fun, to be sure. The students are the best part. But what about faculty? What about classes? I want to see where my kids are going to be learning. It's fun to see the rec center and the fraternity and sorority houses, but that is not what I am paying $20,000+ to see. When I asked if we could speak with a faculty member, those sessions were closed. I was skeptical. Hmmm. One university must have farmed out their visit services--the staff member who answered did not know how to use the Web site to schedule the tour. She told me they also would have to have all of the student's vital information to schedule the tour. I don't really mind, but shouldn't that be optional? My friends don't share their personal information with me before they visit. They often don't call ahead either.

So here is my advice. Be firm. Tell the college representative who answers the phone that you want to speak to a professor during your visit, in addition to the admission representative. Make sure they have a cost sheet available for close scrutiny. In addition to tuition, what are the 'hidden costs,' such as books and lab fees and other charges? How much does it cost to get into an athletic event? Can you even GET into an athletic event? One university told me they had a lottery system for the students to get tickets. Shouldn't students be the FIRST priority? Where do our tuition dollars go?

The bottom line for me is this. College today is expensive and parents need to have all the facts. If colleges can't (or won't) give you an adequate level of service, move on. This is the first