Virtual College Tours

Essential checklist of questions to ask before deciding on a college, brought to you by College Board.

1) Is the city or town that the college is located in one that you’d like living in? Is the school located within a reasonable day’s drive to other thriving cities? How farfrom home?

2) Location of malls, movie theaters, amusement parks, historical sights, other entertainment.

3) Is the campus big or small? Can you reasonably walk from class to class in a decent length of time or would it be better to bike or bus?

4) Does the cost of living in the city sound reasonable for a college student?

5) Is it in a city that will have internships in your field or will you have to travel for that experience?

6) Is there a good campus scene for whatever niche group you’re part of? Is it asocially active campus that you feel comfortable in? If not, how about in the city?

7) Is dorm life, as portrayed on a school’s website or seen during your campus visit, the experience you’re looking for? Single-sex versus coed

8) Does the school have the major you want and is the program sufficient?

9) Does the college have large or small classes or both? Which do you prefer orthink you’d prefer?

10) Does the school have any interesting electives you’d like to take, such asphilosophy of film or yoga? What other educational experiences does the college offer?

11) Is it a social campus, a commuter campus or a quiet campus? Parties, sporting events, concerts, lecture series, famous speakers? Are there Student organizations and activities

12) Is the school within your price range or worth going into debt over?

13) Has the school had significant price hikes from year to year, making it difficultto gauge how much it’d cost to attend for four years?

14) Is the campus visually pleasant and a place you’d be okay spending a goodchunk of your time on? Are the students at the college happy?

15) What’s the weather like there? Is there a lot of one kind of weather, like snow or rain, that you love or can’t stand?

16) Are the professors kind or approachable? Do they offer office hours? Have you checked some professor ratings on sites like ratemyprofessors.com or asked current students?

17) How well does the school rank academically? Is this important to you?

18) Is there a line of successful alumni from the school?

19) Does the college offer career services, fairs, counseling. Are they aggressive at offering internships and job placement? What % of graduates find full-time jobs or graduate school after graduation?

20) Can you imagine going to any other school more than this one? Or does this one just feel right? How important do you regard your feelings vs. logic?