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Education
Want
a successful campus visit?
Do
Your Homework and...Count to Ten
 You
pack for a weekend away and take off to visit a prospective college
with your soon to be graduating senior.
You and the
pre-freshman that you've nurtured through the SATs and admissions
essays are juggling stress.
The college
that you and your child pick will change your lives. If it's far,
there will be dorming. If it's too difficult - or easy - your
new freshman will be bored or discourged. You have the stress
of having your child moving away from the nest, the stress of
deciding on a good school, the stress of deciding how to pay for
it all.
The teenager
by your side is putting a tentative toe into the icy waters of
adulthood. The stress of leaving mom and dad is not much easier
than it was at eight when the bus for summer camp pulled up. Everyone
expected the eight year old to have a hard time leaving home for
two weeks. Why doesn't anyone expect the 18 year old to be terrified
of leaving home forever?
This is the
biggest decision yet in a young life. HIgh School seniors sincerely
believe that the college they choose will make all the difference
in their success in life. Flunk this one and your whole life is
ruined!
College visits
rank as a crucial factor in a prospective student’s college
choice, says Mary Beth Kurilko, Temple’s campus visit coordinator,
but many families arrive on campus with misguided expectations.
With the stress level already high this can make the visit a nightmare
for you and your child - and leave a negative feeling about the
school.
“You
should know exactly what’s included in the tour before you
come,” says Kurilko, who will see approximately 4,500 students
tour Temple’s Main Campus each summer.
Preparation
is the easiest way to ensure a successful visit, says Kurilko.
If your football star is expecting to meet with the coach or your
young journalist aspires to see the campus newspaper crew in action...
work it out before you leave home.
Kurilko explains
“Many
people come with the expectation that they’ll get to see
everything, but certain things need to be prearranged --especially
on a large campus. You
can’t just assume that you’ll get there and be able
to meet with a biology professor, for instance.” The more
pre-planning goes into the event, the easier the transition will
be.
Kurilko also
suggests that parents and students explore the campus independently
for less partial feedback. Stop in at the campus coffee shop for
a break and to absorb the atmosphere. She suggests, “If you
have the time, walk around campus on your own. Talk to a student
about the university to see what he or she likes and dislikes.”
Kurilko dislikes
guidebooks that advise parents to ask preset questions that may
have little relevance to them. “The worst question to ask
is, ‘How do you compare to other schools?’” she
says. “You need to do that research, because an admissions
person will always bring that back to the school they represent.”
Preparing
before you go and remembering just how hard this is for your nearly
grownup child will go a long way towards making the trip fun for
everyone. You'll know the choice of was college a sound and adult
decisions based on the merits of the school... or the color of
the dorm rooms and not on the tense time you had there.
Source: Temple
University (Newswise)
More tips
on choosing a college around the Web:
Specifics
to Consider When Choosing a College
also
see -> How
to Apply To College - Letters, Essay Writing Tips
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