» Does the college have majors that fit my interests?
» What is the total cost of attending the college, and how do I apply for this college’s financial aid?
» Is there a summer orientation program?
» What special academic and social activities and services are available to freshmen?
» How big are the classes — both for freshmen and upperclassmen?
» Are all freshmen assigned to an academic adviser?
» How accessible are faculty members outside of class?
» Where do most freshmen live?
» Are freshman courses taught by full professors or
graduate students?
» How do students register for classes?
» What kind of technology is available to students?
» How successful are graduates at finding jobs?
» How long does it take most students to graduate?
» What is there on campus and locally on weekends,
and do most students stay or leave campus on
weekends?
» What new programs or facilities will be available in
the near future?
» How safe is campus, and what security features are
in place?
» Can freshmen bring cars to campus? Is it hard to get
a parking space?
Sources: actstudent.org, EducationQuest Foundation
Colleges have embraced technology to draw the attention of prospective students.
Some schools offer virtual tours of campus. Others stream 360-degree live webcams of buzzing hubs of activity onto their websites. The visuals are a sidelight to the wealth of online information about a school's academic programs and lifestyle.
But what awaits in real life can be quite different.
"Visits are important because you get to look at the school through your own lens, your eyes — not the images on the computer screen or in the brochure," said Michael Barron, director of admissions at the University of Iowa.
Experts from college admissions officers to high school guidance counselors agree: Nothing can replace the benefits a high school student can gain from a campus visit.
Online research allows students to explore potential choices at their convenience, said Angie Meyer, an advanced education counselor at Omaha Central High School.
"But most virtual tours don't show the campus when there's 12 feet of snow," she said.
Though background information gleaned from early research can be valuable, it is just one of the ways to supplement the college-selection process.
"It's a lot like buying a car," said Joan Jurek, director of college planning at the EducationQuest Foundation's Omaha office. "You're not going to buy it sight unseen without test-driving it, seeing out the windows and touching the brakes.
"Online, they're going to get a sense of the black-and-white facts. Seeing it firsthand is the best picture because (colleges) can only put so much in print."
Though summer is a convenient time to tour a campus, admissions representatives and high school counselors suggest taking a spin around campus during the academic year unless students have no other options.
The "hustle and bustle" of any college can be felt only while school is in session, said Amber Hunter, director of admissions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
"They don't see it — to be cliché — in all its glory," said Jason Blohm, director of student recruitment at Midland University in Fremont.
Visits also provide an important chance to ask tough questions.
The visit — especially to a school far from home — is often one of the few opportunities that parents and students have to ask important questions of a school's admissions staff or student tour guides.
Hunter said studying the college's offerings opens the door to a more well-informed visit, which leads to more accurate perceptions when students narrow their choices.
High school students shouldn't miss the chance to ask about topics such as true freshman class size, campus safety and security, student retention rates and the nature of the student body.
"Kids tend to worry about sports," said Jeanne Simmons, guidance director at Omaha Bryan High School. "But day-to-day living, dorms, meal plans — those are more important."
Wayne Fowler, a retired counselor who worked in the Omaha and Millard school districts, suggests that prospective students attempt to discover the student vibe by giving a four-question quiz to undergraduates they meet.
» Where did you graduate from high school?
» To which colleges did you apply, and which ones accepted you?
» Why did you pick this school?
» If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same college?
"Those four questions will tell you a lot about that school," Meyer said.
Another way to learn about a school — and determine whether it merits a visit — is to sit down with college admissions representatives who come to area high schools.
Simmons said students who come to a meeting with a representative armed with questions and goals often gain a lot from such sessions, whether they are in group or one-on-one settings.
For local colleges, where opportunities to stroll campuses are readily available, counselors and representatives suggest that high school students contact the universities early and begin visiting during their junior year.
In-person visits provide the broadest range of experiences.
"You can see what the school wants you to see," Barron said, "but you can also experience campus in a relatively unscripted way."
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