As college decision day gets closer, many students find themselves asking the same question: How do I take everything from my campus visits and actually feel confident in choosing a college to attend?
Gaining confidence in your college choice can be daunting, but through practical organization, you can gain clarity and feel equipped to narrow down your college choices. Follow the framework below to learn how you can make a clear and informed decision on your next step.
Reflect on Your Campus Visit
As soon as you finish a campus visit, it is important to reflect on your time intentionally while it is fresh on your mind. Don’t overthink — just take some time to jot down your initial thoughts, feelings and impressions of your visit.
Some questions you can think through include:
- Did you feel comfortable on campus?
- What surprised you about your experience?
- Can you picture yourself in the campus atmosphere?
- How did the community of students, faculty and staff make you feel?
With these reflection questions, you can get a grasp on how your visit made you feel overall. You can do this after each school you visit and look back on what you were thinking and feeling in each college environment you encountered. This way, your thoughts are organized in one place so you can compare and contrast your top schools.
Looking Beyond Your Visit
While campus visits provide a valuable overview of a school, they capture only a small portion of what the full student experience is like. Once you have determined your initial impressions about your visit, consider doing further research on aspects of college life that your visit may have only touched on.
Dig deeper:
- Research your intended major or program’s homepage and explore the distinct opportunities a college may offer
- Explore the variety of clubs and organizations that you might be interested in
- Look into support services you may need that weren’t covered on your tour
- Keep up with the university’s social media pages to get further insight into day-to-day life on campus
- Search for study-away or study-abroad opportunities
By blending what you learned during your on-campus visit with new insight gathered online, you can form a more complete picture of whether a school fits the future you imagine.
Ask Follow-up Questions
Even after your visit and further research about a school, you might still have questions that remain unanswered — and that’s perfectly normal. It is common to have follow-up questions for someone directly, whether about financial aid, housing or student life.
Luckily, admissions counselors are great resources for meeting your needs and answering school-specific questions; it's what they are there for. Many admissions counselors will happily set up a personalized session with you to help you with any questions you may have.
You can get connected with your assigned admissions counselor in most cases by navigating through the college's webpage, if you weren’t already given this information at your visit.
Talking with an admissions counselor, a professor or even a current student can give you the personal answers you need to feel more confident and help you build a genuine connection with the school.
Revisit if You're Torn
Sometimes, even if you have done research and asked all the questions you’ve been curious about, you still aren’t sure which school to choose. It’s important to remember that you aren’t alone — many prospective students struggle with making a college decision.
If you still are having a difficult time deciding which college is right for you, you can revisit any schools you are choosing between. Returning for a second or third visit can only benefit you, providing you with helpful information each time and giving you an opportunity to look for things that most students miss the first time.
In some cases, it is as simple as returning to campus to give you the clarity you need to make your college decision.
Making Your Decision
After weighing your academic, social and personal priorities when it comes to choosing the college you will attend, allow yourself to trust your instinct. The facts and thoughtful reflections are important, but your sense of belonging is a powerful indicator of whether a school is the right fit.
Still have questions after your visit? Connect with your admissions coordinator for a personalized follow-up.
Learn More
Learn more about life at Belmont