As a tour guide myself, I know that a campus tour can be the pre-college equivalent of an appearance on a stressful game show: you’re trying to listen to your host, take everything in, pray your parents don’t embarrass you, look cool, sound smart, and ultimately make a very important decision…all in an hour or so. There are (at least) three thousand questions running through your mind, half of which you’ll inevitably forget during the first thirty seconds of the information session, and you only have a small window of opportunity to pick the most important ones to ask the peppy tour guide. So here’s your cheat sheet—the best (and worst) questions to ask on your next college visit.
SKIP THEM—The worst questions to ask:
- When was the university founded? (And anything else you can easily Google or find in the college brochure.)
Your tour guide is many things—a cute older guy, a well-dressed art history major, the student body president, a stressed-out pre-med student on the verge of a nervous breakdown—but an encyclopedia is not one of them. Don’t ask basic questions about the school, like the size of the campus in square miles, that aren’t particularly relevant and take a two-minute Google search to answer. Chances are also good that your burning question about the number of students who live on campus or the middle 50% ACT range will be answered in the information session either directly before or after the campus tour. So not only will you bore your fellow prospective students by asking the name of the fifth University President, but you’ll also waste your big moment asking about a fact or figure you could have looked up on your own or waited 30 minutes to have answered by an admissions counselor.
- What were your SAT scores and high school GPA?
As tempting as it is to get the dirt on the student showing you around campus, asking personal information about his or her own college application is inappropriate, not to mention usually prohibited by the school (as in, tour guides are not allowed to answer these questions). Even assuming the person remembers how they did on critical reading (which, to be honest, is unlikely), measuring yourself against other people is dangerous. Because an application is about more than just scores and stats, two people with the same profile on paper might get different sized envelopes come acceptance day. Same goes for questions about financial aid: it’s done on a case-by-case basis and no one wants to divulge their annual family income. Save your tour guide the awkwardness (and yourself the false hope or unwarranted stress) and leave the SATs where they belong: in a classroom on a Saturday morning, and then in the distant past for the rest of your life.
- Does your school have a javelin club? (And other super-specific, unnecessary questions.)
Okay, so if you’re an Olympic javelin thrower you MIGHT care if there’s a club for other like-minded stick hurlers, but be wary of asking ultra-specific, relatively unimportant questions about clubs, activities, and campus facilities. Does it really matter exactly how many a cappella groups the school boasts? Will the hours of the gym really make or break your college decision? Super-specific questions only waste time—if the tour guide even knows the answer—and distract you from the more important general impression of the school. If you’re really dying to know what’s on the dining hall’s gluten-free menu (or another equally specific random tidbit), check the school’s website or call the appropriate department.
- How would you describe the typical student here?
This is a common question with good intentions, but one that is essentially impossible to answer. College campuses house thousands of students with millions of different interests, goals, and personalities. The tour guide is sure to answer with something generic and impressive-sounding like, “I’d say the average student is ambitious and intellectually curious” or “socially conscious and politically aware.” Instead of asking the question, look around, try to talk to current students, and get a sense of the student body in a way that’s more authentic than the inevitably minimalist (or plain BS) sound-bite on the tour.
In General…
The questions to skip are the ones that are either too general or too specific. You don’t get a sense of a school if you’re thinking too broadly or too narrowly—who cares if the average student is “curious” or if there are four different all-female karate clubs.
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Pick Them—The best questions to ask:
- Does your school have any special events or traditions?
There’s no better way to get a sense of what’s important on a campus than to hear about the quirky, silly, beloved traditions. You learn about the school’s priorities— are the traditions athletic? academic? social?—and unearth a lot about the sense of community on campus. Could you see yourself participating next year? Are there any alums on the tour who are grinning and nodding their heads? Bonus points if your tour guide’s face lights up.
- What other colleges were you looking at?
Although you’re not allowed to ask your tour guide if she got a perfect score on the SAT, you are allowed to ask what other colleges she was interested in when she was a senior in high school. As a general rule, it’s a good sign if you’re also looking at some of the same schools. The best part: you might be introduced to your dream school while touring the rival campus.
- What does your typical Saturday (and Saturday night) look like?
Most colleges look pretty similar during the school week: classes, backpacks, study groups, club meetings, late night dining hall runs, and bed (or, during midterms and finals, the library). But weekends reveal the real character of the school. Whether the student body hangs around campus or heads to the beach or explores a nearby city or leaves for weekend hikes and ski trips, the communal social life of the school (if that even exists!) matters. By asking the tour guide about a typical Saturday, you can get a sense of the nightlife without asking specifically about drinking, frats, or parties (and without drawing unwanted attention from your parents who are, inevitably, hovering over your shoulder). Make sure you get a sense of the after-hours vibe…but also remember that your tour guide is just one person.
- What’s the best class you’ve taken so far? And why?
This question might sound boring—who cares if your tour guide loved Zoology 101?—but the trick is to read between the lines. Does he or she seem happy with the academic experience in general? Does the class actually sound interesting? Did a “celebrity” professor who you never knew taught at the school teach the class? Would you want to take classes with someone like the tour guide, based on his or her response? It’s hard to get a genuine sense of a college’s academic culture, and so (hopefully) this question helps humanize the academic experience. Plus, if you decide to enroll, now you have at least one good course recommendation!
- What’s your favorite part about your school, and why?
Here’s the honest, behind-the-scenes answer you’ve been waiting for. Your tour guide has to talk about certain things (ranging from libraries and career development to athletics and advising), but there might be something really amazing about the University that just didn’t make it onto the tour script. Give the student showing you around campus the opportunity to talk to you candidly and honestly about what it’s actually like to be a student at the college…and be warned if it takes him or her a little bit too long to come up with an answer or you get a generic “there are just too many things I like!” in response.
In General…
You want to ask questions that are specific, without being overly particular. You have an hour with a student who actually attends the university, so don’t shy away from questions that are (appropriately) personal and distinct to his or her experience.
Contrary to public opinion (or at least the opinion of the pushy mom who won’t stop bragging about her prodigy kid), a college tour is not about trying to impress the other prospective students or your tour guide. In fact, your tour guide is trying really, really hard to impress you. So enjoy the day off of school, get excited about the next four years, try to play it cool when your dad gets chatty with the other parents, and ask away!
Do you have suggestions for other good questions to ask on a college tour? Leave a comment!