What to Expect When You’re Expected to Talk on A College Visit

By Sadie Carr
@YCsadiec

You know that feeling when you’re in class and the teacher asks you if you have any questions, but you’re so lost that you don’t even know how to put words together and form a valid question? That’s how I felt when meeting professors and financial aid workers on my college visits…

​​Most College visits give you the opportunity to meet with the professors in your specific area of learning as well as financial aid advisors. Meeting with professors is a great chance to ask any questions you may have. I was expecting the professors to just tell me everything I needed to know, instead it was a time for me to ask THEM questions… I ended up clinging to my mother because I knew so little about college and didn’t even know what to ask.
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I hope to relieve you of some of this pressure by bringing up important questions that have to do with finance, academics, living accommodations, and classes in general.

1. Ask if there are any on-campus opportunities to make money. York College offers work study to the students to earn money. This money can either go to the student’s pockets or into their account to pay tuition.


2. Ask about outside opportunities that the school offers. Every college offers education and sports, but some colleges may differ when it comes to study abroad, career services, and internships.


3. It’s okay to ask about class sizes, class expectations or examples of what a homework assignment might be. It might seem dumb to ask about the little things in a classroom, but I never did, and I was totally shocked my first week of school. High school teachers try to scare students about what college is like. The truth is... every college is different. So just ask.


4. Definitely ask about student life. The best people to ask about dorm life and weekend activities that the college puts on are the students themselves. As a student, I love talking about student activities on campus because that’s the fun part of college and we want to share those times with you.
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5. My final question and the most crucial one, in my opinion, is if students stay on campus on the weekends or go home. If you are someone who wants to go home over the weekends often, that’s great. But if you want to stay on campus and try new things, it might be a downer to come to college to realize that you go to a “suitcase” college and are one of few left on campus for the weekend.

At the end of the day, no question will be considered “dumb” so just go ahead and ask what’s on your mind. If you can’t think of anything specific to ask, just be general with questions to students and ask about their favorite aspects of college. Current students love talking to prospective students about their experiences and want you to see their college for how it truly is. If anything strikes you as confusing, just ask, you are not expected to know everything on visit day. Remember that you are the visitor and you determine how the visit goes.