As a tour guide and tour coordinator for William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ, I know that visiting a school where you may spend the next four years of your life can be extremely overwhelming. There is so much to think about: residence halls, the food, the buildings where your classes will be held. You probably feel like there are so many questions to ask and so many different pieces of information to remember. Hopefully, through this article, I can give you some tips and guidelines to help make your college visits a little easier and less stressful.
For starters, most colleges have set dates for which you can schedule tours. For example, at William Paterson we give tours every Monday and Friday and some Saturdays. However, if you can’t make those dates, most colleges will try to work around your schedule and accommodate you so that you can see their school. Most schools also have open houses where you can not only get a tour, but also meet some of the faculty and learn more about the majors and programs offered.
After you have made an appointment for a tour, the rest is up to the school. All you need to do is show up! At my school, as I believe with most, when you arrive you will most likely be given a packet containing certain information, such as an application and view-book as well as a campus map. Most often the tour will begin with a brief presentation by one of the Admissions Counselors. They will explain to you the admissions criteria and answer any questions that you may have. At William Paterson we even have a brief video for you to watch. I would suggest that you bring a notebook with you to take notes because with all the different colleges that you will probably visit it will be easy to forget all the information.
After the brief presentation student tour guides will usually take over. They will take you around to various buildings on campus such as the library, the computer lab and the cafeteria and explain what happens in each one. You will usually also get to see a dorm room so that you know what living conditions will be like, should you choose to be a resident. Our tours usually last about an hour and at the conclusion you are taken back to the Admissions Office where you are able to talk to one of the counselors again should you have any questions.
