Collegewise

Are summer college visits worth the trip?

Any counselor at Collegewise will tell you visiting colleges is wonderful any time, anywhere (I even visited colleges on a cross-country road trip when I was a sophomore in college!).  But now that summer is right around the corner, we’re getting a lot of questions from our families asking whether it’s still “worth it” to visit colleges over the summer, when most college students aren’t on campus.  It’s true that seeing and talking with current students on a college campus can be beneficial, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the trip when they’re not around, especially because summer is usually the time when our students and their parents have time to get away.  One of our favorite blogs, called The Choice, has posted a few entries about visiting colleges, and specifically, making the most of visits over the summer.  You can read a couple of entries here and here.  Happy visiting!

Getting Along Swimmingly in Long Beach

Last Friday, the counselors at Collegewise-Irvine fought traffic on the 405 Northbound to travel to the exciting city of Long Beach.  While we here at Collegewise are game to visit a college anytime, anywhere, it wasn’t just the allure of Cal State Long Beach that drew us away from our desks that sunny morning (though obviously we had to stop by campus to snap some pictures while we were there).  But the main focus of our little field trip was to see two former Collegewise students, Hayley Cobb and Megan McPherson, compete at the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference championships in Long Beach.

Need Advice about Visiting Colleges this Fall?

Fodors has nine tips for visiting college campuses, like knowing where to park, and getting off the campus and into the college town.

To read more about how to make your next college visit(s) the most productive and exciting to-date, travel over to their website and let the studying begin. They know traveling and we know colleges, so take our word for it-- this is sound advice.

When in. . .San Luis Obispo

My weekend camping trip in Big Sur was interrupted by a voluntary evacuation due to wildfires.  So what was supposed to be a second night in Big Sur became a night in San Luis Obispo, and predictably, an impromptu visit to Cal Poly.

I don't expect high school students and parents to have the same sick compulsion to visit colleges that we do (medication and therapy don't help.  It's completely and totally incurable).  But I've visited several hundred colleges, and not many of them are in a town as safe, quaint and college-friendly as San Luis Obsipo.  I think any student or parent, even one who (mistakenly) believes the colleges on the US News Top 10 list are the only ones worth attending, would agree.  So the next time you find yourself in a new town, whether you're vacationing or visiting or voluntarily evacuating, pay a quick visit to a college in the area.  There's a good chance you'll start to see what we mean when we talk about just how many great colleges there are worth (voluntarily) attending.   

Saint Louis University, Lucky Mascots and Free Stuff!

About once a year the counselors here at Collegewise travel to a different part of the country to visit colleges. We do this so we can better advise our students on what kinds of colleges each of them should be applying to.  This is definitely one of the best parts of my job.  Some of the perks include getting free tee-shirts or pens from admissions offices as well as discovering the cool things that make each school unique.  My last visit of the day to Saint Louis University didn't disappoint.  I came away with both a free tee-shirt and a free pen (thanks, SLU!).   

One of the things I've noticed after traveling to cities where it gets very cold, like here in St. Louis, is the revolving door that so many buildings have.  It's designed to conserve energy and not let heat out of the building.  It's also designed to cause a lot of trouble for a native Southern Californian like myself.  I've been in this city for exactly 30 hours and I've gotten stuck in these revolving doors no fewer than four times.  I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "how does she get stuck in these doors?  They're revolving. People aren't supposed to get stuck in them."  And you'd be correct.  Yet, somehow I do.  Traveling to different cities to visit colleges is 100% fun.  But it's not for the faint of heart. 
 

Down the Rabbit Hole and Through to the Bookstore

"When you get to the giant rabbit, veer to the left."  Wait. What?  This is exactly what the admissions officer told me when I asked her how to get to Washington University's bookstore. I don't think I could have asked for a better quote with which to begin this blog post.  Frequent readers of Wise Like Us know I'm not a regular contributor to this blog. But this week I'm in St. Louis, MO, visiting colleges and attending a conference and I've got some really cool stuff to share about the colleges I've seen today.  I'm currently sitting at a table in the Coffee Cartel, an eclectic coffee shop in the Loop, the town adjacent to Washington University's campus.  I've got a giant mocha, an equally giant cupcake and my laptop. I'm ready to blog.

On College Visits, Just See What You Want to See

I visited Notre Dame once and I only wanted to see one thing--Notre Dame Stadium.  I didn't take a tour or hear the information session or sit in a class.  I just wanted to see "The House that Rockne Built."  It was one of the most memorable college visits I've ever made.

Many families are planning to visit colleges this spring.  When you do, don't feel pressured to do anything but see what you want to see.  Tours and information sessions and class sit-ins are great for some people.  But there's no wrong way to visit a college, much like there's no wrong way to take a vacation.  So whether it's the football stadium at Notre Dame or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech, have fun.  Concentrate more on making it memorable than you do on making it productive.  Just enjoy the time with your family on a college campus. There's enough stress surrounding the process of getting in to college--the visits should be the fun part. 

Collegewise Goes Coastal

After a 6 a.m. departure (which is earlier than any of us had been awake on a Sunday morning in a very long time), we hit the road for the three-hour trip up to San Luis Obispo for our first stop, Cal Poly SLO.  After two fast-food stops and minor trauma to Kyle’s forehead, we arrived on campus.  We parked and posed for our first picture in front of the visual and performing arts center, an impressive building that showcased student artwork and was about the size of a city block.  We were all immediately impressed with the natural beauty that surrounded the Cal Poly SLO campus, especially on such a clear autumn day.  Since the students had finished finals the week before, campus was pretty deserted, but that didn’t stop us from exploring.  Our first stop on our self-guided tour brought us to the Student Center.  We were disappointed to see that the bookstore was closed (no Mustang memorabilia!) but our frowns dissipated after making the acquaintance of a friendly senior Engineering major that snapped our picture and pointed us in the direction of some must-sees on campus. 

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Southampton are part of the "University" centers of the State University of New York.  I was invited to attend a Counselor Visitation Day that was attended by guidance counselors from Massachusetts and Connecticut.  Stony Brook actively recruits non-New Yorkers for this very impressive institution.

SUNY Fredonia

Hail, Fredonia!! For anyone who loves the Marx Brothers, Fredonia (they spelled it Freedonia), is a mythical country in their outrageous comedy "Duck Soup."  Well, I want to hail, Fredonia, the college.