15 questions to ask while visiting colleges

School’s out for summer! Woo hoo! Let the family vacations, trips to the beach, and graduation parties begin. Rising high school juniors, this is not the time to let off the accelerator in your college planning though – it should be beginning. 

Start calling colleges to schedule your campus tour. The summer is a great time to take advantage of the warmer temperatures, so you can actually enjoy tours of college campuses. While there might not be nearly as many students around, it will still be beneficial to kick off those initial visits to test out the waters and discover what you like, don’t like and what you really want in a college or university. 

Summer is often a great time for even younger high school students to start those college visits – it’s never too early. For parents who are sending their first child off to college, the summer is an excellent season to begin learning the college admission ropes. You will learn more from each college you visit. 

Here are some great questions to ask while visiting colleges this summer: 

1. How many students are enrolled? 
2. What are your most popular majors? Why? 
3. Why do students choose your college? 
4. What are some of the other schools you cross applications with? 
5. What is your placement rate after graduation (into graduate school/jobs)? 
6. What is your retention rate of students returning after their freshman year? 
7. Do you superscore? (This might stump some admission reps….it’s a very impressive question)
8. Do you accept AP/IB exams scores? If so, which ones? Ask if they have a list you can check out.
9. How do you evaluate college transfer credits? 
10. Are you a Common App member? 
11. Do you prefer the ACT or SAT? What scores are needed for admission? 
12. Are there different admission requirements for different majors? If so, what are they? 
13. What academic resources do you have available for students? 
14. Ask about scholarship opportunities and any deadlines to be aware of. Is there an application deadline? 
15. Early decision admission? Early action admission? Scholarship priority deadline? 

I hope this helps you get a jumpstart on those questions for your college campus visits this summer. Good luck and have fun!

Written by Nicole Martinez. Nicole is an associate director of undergraduate admission at Valparaiso University.