College Counseling at St. Margaret's

Many of you are visiting colleges this summer and we thought it might be helpful to give you some tips to keep in mind when planning and making  your visits. There is quite a bit of information availalable on our website regarding visiting college representatives and formal college tours, but if you are making the trip as a family, here are some tips:

– Check the college’s website first. Colleges are very eager to show off their campus to you. They will generally make the “Visit Us” link quite easy to find on their website and will give you information regarding how to schedule your visit.

– Determine whether an appointment is necessary. Every college is different; some colleges have formal tours 1-2x per day that require no appointment and some colleges will schedule you for an individual tour with just your family at a time that is convenient for you. Their website will tell you these policies and whether you need to call in advance and where/when to show up.

– Most visits will consist of a campus tour with a student tour guide paired with an information session either before or after the tour. The Tour will give you a chance to speak with a student at that college in a pretty informal setting. Feel free to ask questions about student social life, dorm living, things that an admission officer might not know. The Information Session will usually be given by an Admission Officer. They will tell you general information about the college’s philosophy on education and opportunities for students as well as walk you through the application process. Again, ASK QUESTIONS! They especially love to get questions from students.

– When you ask questions, try not to ask the obvious ones that are on the first few pages of the College Viewbook. For example, don’t ask the MIT representative whether they have an Engineering major, or the USC representative whether there is a lot of school spirit on campus. Try to have done at least a little background reading on the college so that you can ask a more specific question that really couldn’t be found out otherwise. Which brings us to…

– The interview. If it is an option to sign up for an admissions interview when you visit, we generally recommend that you do. This will often be with an Admissions Officer or student at the college. Do your research! Come with at least 3 questions that you can ask your interviewer about the college – and again, don’t ask questions that you could have easily looked up on their website. Also, be prepared to talk about yourself: your SMES experiences, what you love to do outside of school, and why you are interested in that particular college. Most importantly, be yourself! Admissions reps love getting to meet and talk with prospective students, so just relax and have a great conversation.

– Dress for tours should be casual with comfortable shoes – they may have you walking for a couple of miles around campus. Dress for interviews can also be casual, but neat. If you have questions about this, let us know!

Overall, have fun! Visiting colleges will hopefully get you excited about your next steps after SMES! Pay attention to the social atmosphere on campus, hang out in the coffee shops and eavesdrop (subtly), read an issue of the student newspaper…do what you can to find out if you relate to the types of people who go to this college. Might it be the right fit for you?