Josh Kurtz is brand-new explorer in the wilderness of college admissions. Recently, he set off to survey the landscape the way many parents do—by packing up the car and driving to campus after campus after campus.
Mr. Kurtz; his wife, Caryl Ashrey; and their two daughters left their home, in Takoma Park, Md., late on a Friday night. They returned eight days later after visiting seven colleges and putting well over 1200 miles on their Hyundai Elantra. They filled up the gas tank at least five times. They stayed in cheap motels. They bought healthy food when they could find it and stopped at a Cracker Barrel when they could not. All told, the trip cost the family at least $750, and Mr. Kurtz, a journalist, blew five days of vacation time.
So, was it all worth it? Sure, Mr. Kurtz says. After all, his daughter Zoe is a high-school junior, and the trip allowed her to get a feel for different colleges.
Still, the question of what, exactly, the family took away from the experience is difficult to answer. “We had heard that these tours tend to emphasize facilities—the cool new student union, the luxury gym—more than academics,” Mr. Kurtz said. “That proved to be the case.”
First, the family visited Emory University, in Atlanta. Then they drove to North Carolina, making stops at Guilford College, Elon University, and four campuses in the University of North Carolina’s system. Mr. Kurtz liked many things he saw and heard, but was struck by the sameness of each tour.
“Each college has a certain kind of surface look, and the students look a little different,” he says. “But the tours all seem very similar. They all melded together, both in terms of what you saw and the sort of the raps you got from administrators and students. You knew at some point they would be telling you, ‘Hey, see those blue security lights? They’re every 500 feet.’ On every campus, there was some word about drinking, but how there was no pressure to do it if you don’t want to. And at each campus, I marveled at how our student tour guides could walk backwards.”
Zoe, who plays the violin and speaks fluent Spanish, has yet to decide what she wants to study, or whether she wants to attend a big college or a small one. She got a bad vibe on one campus, however. Why? Because her tour guide there was a member of the football team, which gave her the impression that the campus was full of jocks, her father says.
As Mr. Kurtz and his wife, a teacher, marched along on the tours, they pondered a single question: How in the world were they going to pay for all this? Although they heard something about financial aid on each campus, they had hoped to hear a lot more than they did.
On some campuses, the family made a point of stopping by the career-counseling office. Why not make career counselors available during the official tour? Mr. Kurtz wondered.
Perhaps the best moment of the trip happened outside the box of the official tour. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Zoe and her parents were talking about music when a student walking by overheard their conversation. The student, a member of the marching band, offered to walk them over to the music building. There, the student showed them around and introduced them to his friends. It was a moment of unscripted delight.
By the time the family returned home, Mr. Kurtz felt savvier than he had before the trip. Nonetheless, he wasn’t sure if the journey would help Zoe decide where to apply. His advice for other parents is blunt. “Don’t leave your [BS] detector at home,” he says. “On the tours, you’re hard-pressed to find anyone who would cop to the fact that there must be a few unhappy students on the campus.”
As for the emphasis on campus facilities, Mr. Kurtz wondered about that, too. Still, he admits that some of the cafeterias were impressive. “We were happy when we saw that there were fresh vegetables at the student union,” he says.
11 Responses to One Father’s Take on Campus Tours
11221722 - April 28, 2010 at 8:49 am
Want to see and get a feel for a college, skip the Tour, talk to studetns at the Union, in a residence hall and the Wellness Center. Walk thru an academic building your child is interested in, faculty will talk to you about classes and interests.
willardhall - April 28, 2010 at 9:17 am
As a chairman, I’m always delighted when potential students (or even their families) call to make appointments to talk about our department and our course offerings.And whenever I see a campus tour going on, I always yell to the tour-giver, “What’s The Best Department on Campus?” If they hesitate even a bit, I’ll give ‘em the answer “ENGLISH!” I find the tour-takers like the change of pace…
ndkaneb - April 28, 2010 at 9:53 am
Not sure what to study or what the differences might be between large and small schools? If the school has an opencourseware site (see http://ocwconsortium.org for a list), you can see what kinds of courses are on offer, how they are structured, what might be unique about their approach!
bookwormz - April 28, 2010 at 10:07 am
Totally agree with #1! Having just trekked back and forth across the country with the little progeny, I learned quickly to dump the official tour, book dates with heads of departments and interview them, find the student lounge for the deparment (if there is one), eat at the student cafeteria, and basically open any door that isn’t locked. I also have no tact, and will ask current students about their social lives, their last hangovers and how they deal with their roommate’s significant other. Most students have been remarkably open. And the deciding factor for us – the faculty who has been the most responsive and welcoming.
profe1 - April 28, 2010 at 10:52 am
1 and 4 are right. Visiting specific departments and talking to students and faculty in those departments is helpful. Another overlooked area is advising. If the student is uncertain about a major, advisers can talk about options. Students can often arrange to sit in on classes as well.
dean5665 - April 28, 2010 at 11:54 am
What a great dad to take his daughter to all of these schools! That’s parent involvement! However, I hope that the dad explained that just because one of her guides was a football player, doesn’t mean that the campus is full of jocks. Athletes are not just jocks. They should be student-athletes. The article doesn’t explain how the “jock” did as a tour guide, either. If he was not a good host, again that shouldn’t reflect the school. Maybe he was just an unpolished host.That’s why it is good to get on the unbeaten tour path. One that leads to specific departments, in a classroom, in the cafeteria, in the Student Union, into dorms (if possible), to wellness centers, student activities, student clubs or organizations, the infirmary, the bookstore, couseling departments, financial aid, career centers, local campus hang outs, and so on. I love college campuses. I think I will go on a tour like this even if my step-daughter doesn’t want to!Dean
dean5665 - April 28, 2010 at 11:59 am
Did I just commit a major faux pas by saying dorm instead of residence hall? Or did I just reveal how old I am? My appologies to all residence halls and their directors, advisors, and residents across this nation!
greeneyeshade - April 28, 2010 at 2:36 pm
“Don’t leave your BS detector at home.” Priceless advice!
wilkenslibrary - April 28, 2010 at 3:19 pm
When I took my daughter on the college circuit a long, long time ago, after we went on the campus tour, she got to stay overnight in a residence hall (thank you, poster #7 for the correct terminology), eat in the dining hall, go to classes, and talk to students in each of these places. After about 24 hours on campus, she had a much clearer idea of where each school fit on her preference list. Don’t colleges and universities still offer prospective students the option of staying with and shadowing a current student?
mbelvadi - April 28, 2010 at 10:00 pm
I’m sad but not surprised that none of the commenters who mention their ideas of places on campus to see have mentioned the library. For many students, particularly those who expect to live in a dorm/residence hall for at least the first year, the library may be the only place they can find quiet study space. Also approach a reference librarian with a sample research paper topic and get a sense of how much time they’re willing to spend with you – you’d be amazed what a difference a good librarian makes for a scared freshman trying to write her first 15-20 page research paper.More generally, I don’t understand why you’re looking at state university schools out of your own state if you’re worried about money. I don’t know specific majors, but I think UMD College Park has (or at least used to have, I haven’t checked in awhile) a very good reputation generally (not to slur other Md univs, that’s just the one I know about).But if you’re really willing to fork over $20K or more per year, and Zoe wants to get far from home, you might want to consider adding some Canadian schools to her list. Last year I did a quick check, and found that the total international-student tuition/fees/room/board cost for an American to attend my university here in Canada was cheaper than for one to attend her own in-state flagship campus (my sample was UMass Amherst). And Canadian universities don’t have the kind of quasi-professional sports programs you find in the US, so no overhyped under-academic-qualified jocks here. Also the drinking age in Canada is 19, not 21, which might worry you at first but seems to have the result of de-glamorizing alcohol abuse – Canada seems to have a much lower campus alcohol problem (not zero, but lower) than you find in the US. And Canadians are incredibly nice people! And the winters aren’t nearly as bad as the American stereotype of Canada, unless you end up in Winnipeg – stick to the coastal regions or greater Toronto and it’s very nice.
jruiz - May 2, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Having met with a number of prospective students and their parents, I am surprised by the questions they don’t ask:When will my child actually get a faculty member in something smaller tan a 300-student lectur bowl?What percentage of students here graduate in 4 years?If a major req section is closed, do you have the resources to open another, or will my child have to wait a semester or a year?Does the administration have respect for your dept or see it as something expendable?If faculty don’t know the answers, perhaps they should find out.