{"id":12185,"date":"2013-11-18T10:53:02","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T16:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/?p=12185"},"modified":"2015-05-01T09:09:41","modified_gmt":"2015-05-01T14:09:41","slug":"college-admissions-college-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/12185\/college-admissions-college-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"College Admissions and the College Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/CollegeRFarris.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12160 alignleft\" title=\"college visit\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/CollegeRFarris-223x300.jpg\" alt=\"Robin Farris College Advisor address the college visit\" width=\"161\" height=\"218\" \/><\/a>The Importance of\u00a0the College Visit<\/h1>\n<p>Don&#8217;t neglect visiting your top college choices.\u00a0 The <em>college visit<\/em> will provide you with details that you can&#8217;t get from a college&#8217;s website .\u00a0 You want to be smart about when you go.\u00a0 Visiting during Thanksgiving, Christmas and\u00a0Easter is generally a bad idea.\u00a0 Students won&#8217;t be on campus.\u00a0Even the campus\u00a0admission&#8217;s\u00a0officers\u00a0might be\u00a0on vacation.\u00a0\u00a0This is important because\u00a0colleges are much more than\u00a0buildings and lawns.\u00a0They\u00a0have\u00a0personalities\u00a0and cultures that\u00a0can only be experienced through observing and interacting with\u00a0the people\u00a0who live, study and work there.<\/p>\n<h2>Ask the Right Questions<\/h2>\n<p>You want to pick a college that fits your needs and personality. During your <strong>college visit<\/strong> be prepared to ask questions concerning the issues that are important to you.\u00a0 Here\u00a0are some basic questions that you might consider:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Safety:<\/strong> What is college campus safety like? Are there emergency call boxes throughout campus? What kind of training do campus security personnel receive?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dorm Rules:<\/strong> Can students have overnight guests? Are there rules about visitation by members of the opposite sex? How about substance-free dorms? Is a quite atmosphere maintained? Are the dorms open during holidays? Can you have a car? Do all freshmen live on campus?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dorm Security:<\/strong> What security measures are in place in the dormitories? How is access to the dorms controlled?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Roommates:<\/strong> How does the dorm pair roommates? What is the process for handling conflicts or incompatibility between roommates?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Support:<\/strong> What academic and emotional support systems are available to students? Do you have a counseling center? Is there tutoring\u00a0available? Is there a freshman orientation program?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Medical:<\/strong> What medical services are available on campus? Where is the nearest hospital? How are students billed for medical services? Is student health insurance available?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Parties:<\/strong> Is there \u201cpartying\u201d on campus? Are there certain activities that are grounds for expulsion?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Retention:<\/strong> What is the return rate for second-year students? What are some of the reasons students leave or transfer?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Financial Aid:<\/strong> What is a typical financial aid package like? Do most students receive financial aid? Can you help us with the financial paperwork? Under what conditions might my\u00a0you lose financial aid?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Placement Services:<\/strong>\u00a0 Does the school offer job placement services? How do students in your major\u00a0fair finding a job when they graduate?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Class Size<\/strong>:\u00a0 Are the classes big or small?\u00a0 Are they taught by professors or Teaching Assistants?\u00a0 Do professors make themselves available to students?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here is a video that gives you some <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">college visit<\/span> advice:<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EBX7x7DAtCY<\/p>\n<h2>Talk to Students During your College Visit<\/h2>\n<p>Be sure to talk to students and ask them about there experiences at the college. What fun things is there to do?\u00a0 Are people friendly there? Is there a strong campus spirit?\u00a0 What do they do in their free time?\u00a0 Ask about the reputation of\u00a0your intended\u00a0major. Do the students you meet seem happy or stressed?<\/p>\n<h2>Be an Observer<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond asking questions during your\u00a0college visit\u00a0be a keen observer. Look at the buildings and classrooms &#8212; are they well maintained? Is the technology up to date? What does the typical student look like &#8212; someone you might be friends with?\u00a0 What do the\u00a0dining facilities\u00a0look like? And, perhaps more importantly, is the food something you&#8217;d enjoy eating?\u00a0 What type of extracurricular activities are available &#8212; are there tennis courts, ball fields, etc.. ?\u00a0 Check out bulletin boards and the college newspaper to get a feel for what is happening on campus. What about the surrounding community &#8212; does it offer opportunities for recreation, entertainment or employment?<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to take pictures of what you see &#8212; both the good and the bad.\u00a0 You&#8217;ll likely be visiting several campus and the pictures will help you recall what you have seen at each campus.<\/p>\n<p>Here is another good video from a student&#8217;s perspective that explains the things you should check out on your college visit:<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=91eC0vekjlg<\/p>\n<p><em>Robin Farris is a <b>College Admissions<\/b> Advisor at the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, TX.\u00a0 MMA is an all boys private college preparatory boarding school. For more information about MMA visit our website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\">http:\/\/www.mma-tx.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Importance of\u00a0the College Visit Don&#8217;t neglect visiting your top college choices.\u00a0 The college visit will provide you with details that you can&#8217;t get from a college&#8217;s website .\u00a0 You want to be smart about when you go.\u00a0 Visiting during Thanksgiving, Christmas and\u00a0Easter is generally a bad idea.\u00a0 Students won&#8217;t be on campus.\u00a0Even the campus\u00a0admission&#8217;s\u00a0officers\u00a0might [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[256],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-admissions-counseling"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12185"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13102,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12185\/revisions\/13102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}