From the moment Rich Leed set foot on the campus of Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, he knew he'd found the school of his dreams. The spacious quad and surrounding buildings fit Rich's picture of the perfect college—the Ivy League ideal he'd seen in school viewbooks and movies.

"I visited more than 40 schools," Rich says, "and Grove City was the only one that sort of matched that picture. That's not always the most important thing, but I guess I always had that image in the back of my mind as I was looking for colleges."

Now, if you check out Grove City College, it's likely the first person you'll meet is Rich. After graduating in 1998, he has taken enthusiasm for college to the street by leading campus tours. Since tour guides like Rich are the ones who do the work to show you around school, we knew they'd have a lot to say about making the most of your campus visits.

According to tour guide Mike Friel, a 1998 graduate of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, it doesn't make sense to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to see a college without doing some pre-visit preparation.

"Before you get there, learn about the school," Mike says. "Just read a little bit and have some questions prepared. You don't want to go into it cold."

Sarah Hays, a junior at Huntington College in Huntington, Indiana, agrees. "Come with questions in mind," she says. "A tour is an interactive process. If you don't have questions, we're just guessing at what you want to know. We'll tell you what we think is important, but there might be other things you're interested in."

To get ready for a campus visit, tour guides tell us, request all the college's brochures, viewbooks and publications well in advance. If you have Internet access, spend a good chunk of time browsing the school's Web site, printing off any applicable pages. And it wouldn't hurt to consult a Christian college guide that offers objective views and vital school stats. Peterson's Guide to Christian Colleges and The Campus Life Guide to Christian Colleges and Universities are good examples.

Next, read through all the information carefully, noting areas of interest. Formulate a list of questions you'd like to ask tour guides, admissions counselors and financial aid officers. Then, right before you walk on campus—maybe in the hotel room or car—review the college's material and your own questions. By the time you reach the admissions office, you'll be ready to roll.

"It's funny," Rich says. "You do get some people who come without a clue. And you kind of wonder why they're here. It almost seems like a waste of time."

Now that you've done your homework, you need to figure out when to come. Almost every college encourages high school students to come while class is in session, since classes are a major part of the college experience. But many colleges also encourage prospective students and parents to come during special days or weekends.

Often held in the spring, these visitation days give colleges a chance to pull out all the stops for their visitors. Amanda Yule, a junior at Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa, Georgia, thinks these events are great for students wanting to experience all the college life they can in a single visit.

At Toccoa's Campus Preview, Amanda says, "everyone, from the professors to the admissions counselors to the students to the resident directors, is on their toes. You are here to get all the in formation you need. We're ready to give it."

On visitation days, schools usually plan concerts or coffeehouses, forums with college students and faculty, multiple tours, and other special activities for both prospectives and parents. Plus, high school students get to meet dozens—even hundreds —of other applicants going through the same stressful, exciting time.

"With 300 people here at once," Amanda says, "you feel like you're a part of the college itself. You're not just a little visitor walking around holding a folder."

One downside of events like Campus Preview is that individual attention is scarce. For one-on-one interaction with admissions and financial aid counselors, you're better off visiting on a non-preview day.

Regardless of when you visit—and you can go on both regular and special visitation days—you'll want to take advantage of all the opportunities a college has for visitors. One of these is the chance to stay in a dorm.

"Spend the night on campus in the dorm with a college student," Amanda advises. "You'll get to ask all kinds of questions. You'll get to see what it's like in the dorms, and you'll get to wake up on campus and get ready in the bathrooms. You'll see what it's like to go to breakfast at the dining hall."

"It's a really good way to see what goes on at night," Sarah adds. "You can get a feel for what there is to do and how much homework people actually have."

Sarah says attending a class also helps prospective students and parents see what college is all about. At Huntington, as at most other schools, admissions personnel arrange a class visit if you come on a weekday.

Be sure to eat at least one meal at the dining hall to see how you like the food—after all, you might be eating there for four years. And try to work in a visit to chapel, if it's being held. Often, chapel services give an accurate forecast of the spiritual climate on campus. Finally, make sure you've scheduled appointments with the admissions and financial aid offices.

So you've made the trip to the college of your choice, and you're ready for the tour. Scared you'll ask a stupid question? Don't be. Even if you're a naturally shy person, you'll want to be assertive as your guide takes you through buildings, across lawns, and tells you about the school. The last thing you'd want to do is let the fear of asking a stupid question get in the way of finding out what you're really interested in.

Mike should know. He doesn't remember much about his tour at Westmont, although he ended up enrolling anyway. What Mike—who's says he's not really a "big group person"—does remember is being both bewildered and withdrawn.

"I didn't know what to ask or expect," Mike admits. "I didn't know how to compare colleges or even if I should, and I wasn't aware of the opportunities available for me in college. I didn't have a clue." So when Mike became a tour guide, he looked for ways to help his shy visitors have a better experience than he did.

Even so, he can only do so much in a group with 20 or more visitors. Unavoidably, he finds he spends the most time with folks who engage him with questions and conversation.

Sarah agrees, though she says the most interested people are often the parents, not the students. She wishes the students would be a little more assertive, because going to college means learning to manage without Mom and Dad around.

Her advice to prospective students: "Bring your parents along—that's great, they're in this with you. But this is the time when your parents are going to be letting go, so you need to step forward, too."

"There are so many questions that need to be asked," Amanda says. According to her, every question significant enough to be raised in a visitor's mind is significant enough to be asked. "Even if it's, ‘What's the boy-to-girl ratio?' or ‘How many people get married after they graduate?' that's fine. If you really want to know that, ask it and don't feel like a moron for doing it."

Mike offers these questions as models: "What are the unique opportunities this school presents to its students? How does this college prepare its students for the working world? What are the strongest and weakest features of your school?"

Mike says you can't avoid tough questions like that last one. If tour guides are representing their schools accurately, they'll be up-front and honest—even if that means saying they don't know the answer.

Living arrangements, academic programs, safety and technology (see "Technology 101," below) are examples of topics every tour guide is prepared to address. Amanda says other subjects visitors might want to inquire about are average class size, dating rules and curfew, health facilities, sports and recreation, and stuff to do around town.

Remember, tour guides aren't mind readers. They don't always get around to everything students or parents are interested in. So if you've got a passion for racquetball or drama, ask if your guide can drop by the courts or the theater. It's your responsibility to bring up your special interests.

With a little planning, your on-campus experiences can be filled with tours, classes, important meetings and special opportunities. But if you're like most people—crunched for time and money—you'll probably end up trying to do and see it all in a cross-country college blitz, visiting several schools in one trip. By the time you get home, your brain might be the consistency of oatmeal. So how do you firm up all the details in your mind?

The tour guides have two simple suggestions: Take great notes, and by all means, use your camera.

Don't fail to keep a record of your college visits, or you'll end up laboring over fuzzy memories later, trying to match tours and campuses with schools you know you've seen. Your trip will be more effective in the long run if you can actually remember what you thought about each college and how one was different from another.

It is possible to enroll at a school without visiting first. But nothing—not viewbooks, Web sites, or even knowledgeable alumni—can help you get a better feel for schools than campus visits. "You find out what college is really like," Mike says. "You find students walking the paths. You find classes with professors. You find the real character and soul of the school."

Top 5 computer questions to ask while you're on campus

1. Can I get on the Internet from my dorm room?
These days, almost all colleges allow Internet access from the dorms, though some schools don't want students to have the temptation to visit bad sites, like porn, in the privacy of their own rooms. If access is allowed, are dorm rooms wired into a network, or do students have to dial up using their phone lines? If they have to dial up, how long does it take to get through? Is there a technology fee for dorm access?

2. What other computer facilities are available?
Even if you have Internet connection and a printer in your room, there will probably be times you'll need to hit the computer lab. So where are the labs? Are there both Macs and PCs? Are computers available when you need them, or are the labs often full? Are labs well-staffed with tech support assistants? What software do the computers run? And how about network access from other places on campus, like classrooms, study lounges or library carrels?

3. How are professors and students using computers to enhance the education here?
Colleges are using new technology for everything from e-mail discussion lists to electronic reference resources to online-only assignments. And even at the same school, students in different departments might have very different experiences with online learning. Talk to students and faculty in your potential major, and try to figure out not only what's being done, but how people feel about it. What you're looking for isn't necessarily a school that's caught all the latest trends, but one where you'll fit. You might not feel comfortable as a technophobe at a high-school, or as a tech genius at Pen-and-Paper U.

4. What kind of computer and software should students have?
This varies by school and sometimes even by major—a graphic design major's computing needs are very different than an engineering major's. Talk to someone in the department you're interested in or a member of the computing services staff. Also ask about rental or leasing programs and educational discounts on equipment purchased through the school.

5. Can I get help when I need it?
If the school is in or near a good-sized city, you should have no problem getting service for your personal computer. But if the nearest computer store is miles and miles away, find out if the college—officially, or as a side business for some entrepreneurial students or professors—provides on-site service for a reasonable charge. Also ask students about the on-campus network. Does it crash all the time? How long before it's up and running again?

To have a great campus visit, make sure you do the following:

Before you go...

1. Research the college (read the material it sent you, check out its Web site, talk to alumni in your area).
2. Prepare some questions related to your interests.
3. Decide whether to visit on a special preview day, a regular day, or both.
4. Schedule appointments with admissions and financial aid counselors, coaches, performing arts profs or anyone else you really want to meet.

While you're there...

1. Take a campus tour.
2. Spend a night in the dorm.
3. Eat in the dining hall.
4. Take notes.
5. Attend chapel.
6. Take pictures.
7. Attend a class in your potential major.
8. Ask lots of questions!

After you leave...

1. Recap what you've learned, and talk it through with anyone else who visited with you.
2. File your notes and pictures with the school's brochure, application and other materials. That way, when it's time to make your decision, you'll have all the information at your fingertips.

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