You’ve consulted everything. A guidance counselor. A tarot deck. A magic eight ball. A pro-con list so thorough, Rory Gilmore could’ve made it. But you still feel paralyzed by looming college decisions. Where should you apply? And — if you’ve already been accepted — which school should you attend?
Forget the magic eight ball. It’s time for a campus tour.
“Touring a college campus is really the best way to get a sense of whether or not you can see yourself at that campus,” says Freddie O'Brion, coordinator for campus visitation at USF. Sure, you can find plenty of helpful data on a school’s website. But when you step onto campus, you can feel vibes. Plus, you can talk to students, admissions officers, and even faculty — giving you a behind-the-scenes peak at life on campus.
Let’s dive into how a campus tour can help you in the college decision making process.
An in-person campus visit isn’t going to be feasible for everyone, due to health or financial circumstances. “We know there is a barrier to coming and visiting a (school),” explains Brandon Cheatham, assistant director for campus visitation experience at USF Tampa. “We want people to have access no matter what.”
That’s why many schools, including USF, have created immersive virtual tours. Some virtual tours are even more in depth than an in-person visit, explains this article from U.S. News & World Report: “A general in-person tour might not include a visit to the student newspaper building, but an aspiring journalism major may be able to tour it online.”
USF offers virtual tours of all three campuses that feature 360° panoramic photos and recorded audio from current tour guides. (“I personally sometimes will go on the virtual tour and just click around because it’s so much fun,” says O'Brion.)
If you know which schools you’re visiting, make the most of your tour by planning ahead of time.
Although planning ahead is great, don’t sweat it if your tour is more spontaneous. “My tour was a little more impromptu,” says Aidan Cawley, a third-year environmental sciences major and tour guide at USF St. Petersburg. On a group tour of Florida state schools, Cawley and his peers had “several hours to kill” while they waited for traffic to die down. They ended up at USF St. Petersburg — where Cawley fell in love with the campus.
When Cawley talks to campus visitors, they usually don’t have a straightforward answer about why they are drawn to certain campuses. It’s more of a gut check: Do they feel at home? Is the campus the right size? Ultimately, this is the benefit of a campus visit: There’s no right or wrong answer about whether it’s the right fit. Only you can tell that. “Visiting a college in person can help you to form your own impressions rather than relying on what somebody else has to say about the campus,” explains this article by CollegeRaptor.
Here’s how you can make the most of this opportunity:
As you tour, check in with yourself:
One university can have several campuses with different “personalities.” At USF, you can choose from three campuses to find your best fit:
When you decide on a school, you’re also choosing where you’ll live for the next four years — and maybe longer, if you land a postgrad job in the area. Set aside some time to explore the business and cultural districts around your prospective school, and be sure to check out the local recreation. In Tampa Bay, you can explore:
Along with your sightseeing, try to get a taste for everyday life. Hop on the public transportation (especially if you don’t plan on bringing a car to campus), shop at the local grocery store or pharmacy, and scout out the nearest hospital. Can you see yourself living here?
Never hesitate to ask questions during your tour. For one thing, campus tour guides love getting questions — “that’s their favorite part of the job,” O’Brien says. And when you ask questions, you give the other members of your tour group the confidence to speak up, too.
But what kinds of questions should you ask? “The most common questions are like, how does the roommate process work, or what does safety look like on campus?” O’Brien says. While these general questions are important, O’Brien says you can get many of them answered through the website. “I feel like the best questions are things that'll give you specific answers about information that's relevant to you.”
Cawley agrees. This is your opportunity to ask your tour guide about their personal experiences — particularly with professors, jobs, and campus involvement. (“Take it from a guy who has… what are we up to?” Cawley says, mentally calculating his resume. “Four campus jobs, two clubs, USF ambassadors, and some loose affiliations with other departments like student government and campus rec. I personally love being involved on campus.”)
Try asking these questions on your next college campus tour:
Don’t forget the power of follow-up questions, too. For example, if your tour guide mentions they are part of a living learning community — like the one that raises guide dogs at the USF St. Petersburg campus or the Stonewall Suites at Tampa — feel free to dig deeper: Can you tell me more about that?
After your campus tour, spend some time in the places you’d frequent as a student. Have a meal in the dining hall. Take notes on your tour in a study nook. And sign up for the “extra” offerings that immerse you in the school’s academic culture:
Now that you’ve toured potential schools, you’ll probably feel more empowered to make a decision. But that doesn’t mean the decision will be easy. Take time and listen to yourself. Cheatham advises students to think about what they really want, and ask yourself: “Can I see myself achieving those things at this place?”
If you’re sorting through a ton of potential schools, O’Brien recommends making a spreadsheet: list all the schools you’re considering, and write your notes in different columns for financial aid, location, academic program offerings, extracurriculars, etc. Now compare. Which school checks the most boxes?
Remember that you don’t have to make this decision alone. School admissions offices and tour guides are happy to answer follow-up questions and assist in any way they can. Contact the USF Office of Admissions online and find out how we can help. Or schedule your tour of USF today!