College and university campuses are often quieter in the summer, but they aren’t deserted.
Prospective students and parents might have fewer chance encounters during a summer college visit, but they can prearrange meetings with the people they are most interested in speaking with, admissions experts say. This is good news for busy families who can’t fit visits in during the school year.
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Costas Solomou, dean of undergraduate admissions at George Washington University in the District of Columbia, says the admissions office tries to accommodate every student or parent request for an on-campus meeting, no matter which season they’re visiting.
“In my office we never say no, essentially, to any request,” he says.
Here are five types of people prospective students and parents can try to connect with when touring a college or university in the summer.
1. Admissions officers: Families will usually meet an admissions officer if they attend an information session during their summer campus visit. But if they have a lot of admissions-related questions, they might be able to get a one-on-one meeting.
At the University of Washington, prospective students and parents can call ahead to schedule a 30-minute appointment with an admissions officer or stop by on the day of their visit for a walk-in appointment, says Tamara Long, assistant director of admissions for campus visits at the school.
2. Professors: At some schools, prospective students can meet a faculty member by sitting in on a class.
The University of Washington, for instance, offers nearly 20 different courses that visiting students can sample this summer, including b usiness f inance and Introduction to Psychology.
Williams College in Massachusetts, a smaller school, doesn’t have regular classes students can sit in on during the summer, but it offers an alternative. The liberal arts school holds a one-day summer open house where prospective students can attend a sample class taught by a professor.
“You’re not witnessing what a current Williams class might look like, but you’re at least getting some exposure to the content and the teaching styles of Williams faculty,” says Liz Creighton, dean of admission and financial aid at the school.
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Another option at some institutions it to meet with a professor individually.
“I think there’s this sense sometimes that high school students or prospective students would be bothering the faculty, or that it’s really too much to ask to do that,” says Tiku Majumder, a physics professor and director of the science center at Williams. “But I don’t think that’s true.”
He commonly meets with high school students over the summer to answer questions, he says. Majumder might also show them his lab and introduce them to undergraduate researchers.
Students who want to meet with a professor can reach out to an academic department directly or contact the school’s admissions office.
3. Student services staff: If families have questions about the nonacademic aspects of college life, they can reach out to a school’s admissions office about meeting with a staff member who deals with a particular service, experts say.
For example, both Solomou and Long say that families of students with disabilities can arrange to meet with people on campus who can discuss available resources and accommodations.
4. Athletic coaches: Clark Campbell, head women’s swim ming coach at the University of Kansas, says summer visits from students were more common when he worked at non-Division I schools, though he does still meet with a handful of students each week at KU.
Campbell recommends that aspiring college athletes contact a coach in advance to set up a meeting, as opposed to just dropping in.
5. Current students: Though many undergraduates don’t stay on campus for the summer, families touring a school at this time are likely to meet at least one current student — their tour guide. Students lead summer tours at George Washington University, the University of Washington and Williams College, school admissions officials say.
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Chase Masters, a rising junior at GW from California, is one of the school’s summer tour guides. She talks with families after her tours and says she’s willing to give out her email address to prospective students who ask for it.
“It’s nice to have someone on the inside that can give you more guidance,” Masters says.
In addition to tour guides, there may be other undergrads on a college campus during the summer conducting research, taking classes or holding other types of jobs. At Williams, for example, there are around 275 undergrad researchers on campus this summer, Creighton says.
Majumder says personalizing a campus visit by interacting with people beyond the standard tour and info session “will help the student remember what that school was about and give them a better sense of whether it’s a good fit.”
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5 Types of People You Can Meet on a Summer College Visit originally appeared on usnews.com
