The leaves are changing and the wind is getting colder. It’s fall and that means you’ll probably be making a couple visits to college campuses and maybe even attending an open house or two. Though some people can make their college decision simply by browsing a college website, I found that the best way to get an accurate feel for the school is experiencing the campus culture and interacting students and staff in person. Not only does this let you compare what you see online to the real deal, but it also gives you an opportunity to talk to multiple people who already attend classes, live or work on campus, and know their way around town and learn about the college through their unique perspectives.
When I was a high school senior, getting this insight was played a significant role in my college decision process. In the spring of my senior year, I visited 9 schools, including Naz, and each time I visited a new campus, I kept the following things in mind:
Size of the campus: When a college website describes a campus in terms of how many acres it covers, it’s kind of hard to get an accurate idea of just how big a campus is. Sure it helps to know how big the undergrad population is, but the best way find out the true size of the campus is by walking it yourself. Whether it was a guided tour or a casual meander around the school grounds, I found that physically experiencing the campus layout and scenery was a crucial part in figuring out if a campus was a good fit for me or not. All the schools I was looking at were incredibly beautiful, but there was something about Naz that just felt right to me. Each time I visited a new campus, I felt overwhelmed by the newness of the environment, but as I walked around Naz, I just got the sense I would be able to adjust quickly to the smaller, yet gorgeous campus and become comfortable in this new home.
Dorm rooms: A college visit would not be complete without stopping by a couple dorm rooms. As an out-of-state student especially, it was important to me that I would be living in a comfortably sized space, with good heating systems (we Californians are extremely spoiled when it comes to weather), lots of decoration potential, that was near other buildings on campus. Naz has a good variety of dorm rooms, but on my tour we got to visit both Kearney, the all freshman building, and O’Conner, the dorms where you can living a suite of a bunch of your friends. Even though I thought the idea of a suite was awesome, I really loved that there was a dorm for just freshman because it was a great opportunity to both meet people in my classes and make friends who lived nearby. Not only that, but when I visited Naz, I really liked that the dorms were only a seven minute walk away from the furthest academic building. I knew that would especially come in handy if I needed to just roll out of bed and get to class.
On campus amenities: Another thing I tried to look for is the student services that were offered right on the college’s campus. If I was to make this place my home away from home, I wanted it to be as convenient as possible. Naz, despite its small size, had a lot of the amenities that I wanted right in the center of campus. If I got sick, I could easily make an appointment with Health Services. If I wanted to work out, there were two different weight rooms, a track, and a scenic canal biking route nearby. There were three different places to eat on campus plus a coffee shop that sold hot chocolate in the library. In the Arts Center, I noticed practice rooms with a piano in each one, and I could picture myself taking a break from studying to just play a couple old songs. Naz had everything I needed right on campus, and I was less worried about learning how to live on my own without the guidance of my parents.
Location of the campus: Last but not least, I always paid attention to the location of a college’s campus. Was it in a rural area surrounded by forests or steep hills or was it in the dead center of a lively city? When I was visiting college, I decided pretty much right away that I didn’t want to live in a city. It was too busy, too overwhelming and I hated the idea of having to cross a busy street or take a bus to get from class to class. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be at a school that was in the middle of nowhere. Naz turned out to be a happy medium. Pittsford is a suburban area away from the hustle and bustle of the city of Rochester, but it offers a lot of fun places to do nearby, including a mall, an apple farm, the Erie Canal, a movie theatre with reclining seats, and many more. There was also a Wegmans grocery store and a bunch of cool restaurants within the area. I wasn’t worried about not having a car or getting so bored because there was nothing to do in the area, nor was I stressed or overwhelmed by large crowds of people and street traffic.
Sure it’s great to do online research about a school when narrowing down your college choice, but from my experience, I would have never been so sure about my final choice without visiting each school in person. It really helps to compare campuses through your own experiences. When I was applying to colleges, I didn’t really know what kind of school would be the best fit for me, but as I visited Naz, it just felt right. I could suddenly picture myself living in the dorms, studying in the library, walking through the “Hogwarts Tunnel.”
So as you’re going through your college search, don’t forget to keep these things in mind while visiting different schools. It’s a long and overwhelming process, but it’s worth it if you can find the place to call your home away from home.