First published April 12, 2013. Updated May 4, 2020
The college search process is daunting. Using a college visit checklist is a big help in knowing what to look for.
Last summer we spontaneously took two college tours just because we were in the vicinity of those colleges. We immediately realized that you need to prepare for your college tours.
You can’t be a spectator in this process and gain anything of value. So to make these visits be more productive I just had to make a College Visit Checklist, of course.
We took our first “official” college visit trip last month. Sniff. Sniff. How in the world is my baby old enough to be saying the word “college”, let alone be looking at them?! Give me a moment.
How Should I Prepare for a College Visit?
- Spend time on the college website and learn more about the school and how it meets your unique interests and needs.
- Think about what is important to you in selecting a university.
- Research what programs of study are available at the university that may interest you.
- Print out and review the College Visit Checklist in preparation for your visit.
- Be prepared to take notes. Trust me, you’re not going to remember everything after the tour if you don’t get it down in writing.
- Take advantage of the resources for more than 140 college resources available at College Scoops. They also have more than 65 carefully curated college ebooks.
- Talk to friends, teachers and neighbors who attended the university.
College Visit Checklist
Using a prepared college visit worksheet helps your student pay attention during the visit and focus on what’s important. It also helps her ask specific questions if topics important to her are not covered in the presentation. There’s also room to add information that we didn’t anticipate (which was a lot!).
Print out your copy of the university visit checklist. Yes, a printed checklist is old school, but research has shown that writing information down helps the brain process it more effectively than typing it on a screen.
We found it helpful to look up some of the general information about the school on the school’s website before the visit. Using that information, we got started on filling out the checklist. That research provided a quick orientation to the school and allowed my daughter to focus more on the presentation for answers to specific questions that were important to her.
You can download your own copy of my College Visit Questions pdf to use for your college tours.
We visited 3 universities in 2 days. We heard presentations and took the tours at each of the three College Visit Checklist. We were inundated with a lot of information and details. To keep track of the information unique to each school, it was key to have a college visit checklist for each school and fill it out during or immediately after each visit.
I realized that carrying the loose pages of checklists around wouldn’t work. I found a sturdy folder to hold the checklists and a pen. Having the folder was also helpful for holding brochures, handouts and business cards we picked up at each college. The folder and the checklist worked well for us on the visits.
Since we took the time and made the effort to drive 10 hours each way on this trip, I wanted to make sure that my daughter (well, really all of us) got the most out of each college visit. And the checklist helped us do just that.
I can’t overstate the benefits of a college visit checklist in helping your student gather the information needed to make an informed decision on the best choice for her and her future.
More Top College Tips for Success
- College Tour How to Prepare
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- Unexpected Hidden Costs of College
- Full-Tuition Academic Scholarships
- Dorm Move-In Day Tips
- 7 Simple Tips for College Students
Pin for later so you can easily find all these tips for preparing for college and this college visit checklist.
I’m a mom of 3, a veteran and military spouse. I’ve moved into 20+ homes all around the world. My passion is helping busy people make the space and time for what’s really important to them.
Cynthia Landrie says
You are such a good Mom! Love the folder, love the “clip board” I bet your daughter was happy to have them! College visits are stressful, but it sounds like you were prepared!
Thanks for linking up to the In and Out of the Kitchen party! I am always amazed at your organization skills!
Cynthia at http://FeedingBig.com
Micupoftea~ says
Following the Scout motto- Be Prepared! I hear ya…my daughter is finishing her 2nd yr of college and back when it came time to consider colleges we were stunned she was old enough to graduate and go to college – where was our baby?! Campus visits are important because something can look good on paper (or online) and when you walk through the campus you will usually get an immediate ‘nay’ or ‘yay’ feeling that you should listen to. That tiny voice that says I ‘just don’t feel it here’, or ‘I’m getting a great feeling about this university’! Visiting from the chicken chick. Good luck with the search and upcoming graduation! 🙂
shawn
Susan@Organized31 says
Shawn, Thanks for the encouragement. It’s such a daunting task! I’ll try to pay closer attention to that “tiny voice.” It’s good to hear that other moms and dads survived kicking their babies out of the nest. 🙂
Kathryn Ferguson Griffin says
What a great checklist to keep confusion away. Thank you for sharing this at the Anything Blue Friday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see you again at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Lisa says
Hi Susan! This is so clever– but first off, I’m in-love with your blog! I really like that upcycled sweater idea. I just want to add on books and fees, yeah some schools are using e-texbooks with pricey access fees, we need to keep that in mind.
Susan@Organized31 says
Lisa, thanks for the support! And hadn’t thought about checking the books and fees, but that’s definitely important to consider. Thanks for letting me know.
Sandra Bugbee says
Hi Susan,
my name is Sandra Bugbee my Daughter is 17 and will be Graduating June 2020. We feel like we are flying blind as we have never had to Apply for College in over 30 years and so much has changed. if you could advise as we feel like we have come to the party late.
Thank You in Advance
Sincerely
Sandra A Bugbee
Susan says
My third “baby” is in his junior year, so I really do understand how overwhelming the college process can be, Sandra. I’ve shared many of our “lessons learned” on the blog. I’ve also collected all my different posts and listed them here on this page – Top Tips for College Success. Let me know if you have any other questions. And enjoy this year with your daughter. It’s a big one for both of you.