You're sure you've found the college that's right for you. You've considered all the crucial decision-making factors, like "guy-to-girl ratio" and "proximity to beach." You can belch the school's 89 majors in reverse alphabetical order. And you know you'll be accepted: Your parents had to rent a storage unit to contain the mailings you've received. Yes, Southwest Madagascar Bible College is all that and a bag of pork rinds.
Not so fast. You're missing out on one of the most important college choice considerations if you haven't made a campus visit.
Perhaps you're saying, "Josh's brain is full of tofu and hamburger condiments. I don't need to visit SMBC to know it's where I want to go. Besides, I've seen the viewbook."
Sorry, but as helpful as viewbooks are, they do have limitations. They won't tell you whether the professors in your prospective major could lecture a hyperactive chihuahua to sleep. They'll forget to mention the campus is wedged between a sewer treatment plant and a chicken farm. And you probably won't hear anything about the campus cuisine. All of this—and much more—can only be discovered by actually setting foot on college ground.
How much more? Glad you asked.
Tour de Campus
Even in this age of virtual campus tours via a school's Web site or CD-ROM, a formal campus tour during your visit is a must. Aside from the obvious benefits of seeing the entire campus up close and personal, the campus tour is an ideal time to ask questions. And since tour guides are often students, they're usually gushing with knowledge about the school, ready to cater to your every whim.
What I'm saying is, you'll want to come equipped with an arsenal of questions. This is your opportunity to ask a person who treads the campus sidewalks each day those questions you've always been wanting to know, such as: What is the spiritual climate like on campus? What is the rate for long distance calls on school phones? Is there a bowling alley in the basement of the dorm? Why are the garbage dumpsters overflowing with empty Pop Tart boxes? What are this college's main strengths and weaknesses? Are there curfews or dating regulations? Why are there stray monkeys playing in the fountain? The list could go on, but the point is this: Don't be afraid to ask anything!
Got Class?
Try to schedule a campus visit while school is in session. Doing so will let you get a feel for the kinds of students and professors who roam the halls and sidewalks. Plus, you'll get to sit in on a class or two.
Well before you actually take your trip, call the admissions office to secure your spot in a class that interests you. (OK, scheduling a class isn't the only thing you'll want to plan ahead of time. Calling weeks in advance to arrange meetings, lodging, even meals is mucho importante.)
Once on campus, attempt to obtain a map of the college. This will help you to avoid meandering into the wrong classroom where, for example, you could have the privilege of joining students in a nine-part essay test. Keep in mind, however, that even when you do manage to find the right classroom, you'll probably be jumping into a course at mid-semester. If you don't understand everything that's going on, no big deal.
As a prospective student a few years back, I remember visiting a class with my cousin. My cousin was a youth ministries major at a West Coast school, and I joined him for his New Testament Greek class. Turns out the students had a test to take the first half of class. So for kicks, I took the test and filled in the blanks with such scholarly answers as "Mickey Mouse," and "That's Greek to me."
Somehow, I didn't learn a lot of Greek that day. But through observation, I did learn a thing or two about the format of a college class and the way students and professors interact.
Taste and See
In my experience, virtually all cafeteria food is an acquired taste, so you might as well start acquiring early. When you visit a campus, be sure to take advantage of this unique opportunity. It's awfully hard to learn about meal quality second-hand. From one person to another, taste buds can be geared as differently as a Dodge and a Tonka. You've just gotta stand in that cafeteria line yourself.
At the school I attended, many people got along fine with the food. Others had to find creative ways to enjoy cafeteria concoctions.
For example, my friend Frank was an expert at long distance casserole launchings. Like a veteran quarterback, he could fling food items directly into my mouth from any distance with deft precision. The challenge of catching as much casserole as possible was like a "spoonful of sugar" when the food wasn't altogether appetizing. (As an aside, Frank also enhanced campus dining by inventing the game of Crouton Hockey and regularly befriending talking grapefruits. As you might have guessed, he plans to become a youth pastor.)
Not everyone is able to cope with such jocularity. Another friend of mine, Steve, eventually became fed up with status quo meals. His only love became the cafeteria's cereal station, where he ended up consuming at least 30 bowls of Cap'n Crunch and Froot Loops per week.
You see, unless you want to spend your college career single-handedly ensuring the financial success of Count Chocula, it's a bright idea to snag a meal at the caf while visiting your college choices. After all, four years without a home-cooked meal is hard enough. Four years without a meal you enjoy is plain ugly.
A Dose of the Dorm
A big, big benefit of the campus visit is the opportunity to spend the night in the dorm. The aforementioned Frank was my sophomore roommate. At the time, he was also in charge of making sure all prospective students had places to stay during their visits. Translated, this means we would occasionally house several students at a time in our miniscule room, which was a lot like playing Tetris.
One student could sleep on the love seat. In normal environs, it could extend into a cot, but in our room a full third of the cot went underneath a desk. Others would be forced to crash on the floor.
This wouldn't have been so bad if Frank had not elevated our bunks as a way of saving space. Essentially, I slept with my nose touching the ceiling, and Frank's mattress was located approximately six inches beneath mine. This meant that before we would get in bed at night, we had to decide whether we wanted to sleep on our backs or our bellies. In the groggy morning moments following the blare of our alarm clocks, Frank and I would freefall from insane heights, forgetting that our landing pad was cluttered with prospective students.
So it wasn't the Hilton. But believe it or not, dorm living was more fun than a vat of yogurt. Staying a night or two yourself will give you the best taste of what it's like to live in a particular school's dorm environment. And that could play a pretty big part in determining if that college is the right place for you.
Ready to Visit?
Perhaps by now you are saying, "Josh, your polemical skills have kidnapped my former way of thinking and left it for dead. I now see the benefits of visiting Southwestern Madagascar Bible College. When should I make the trek?"
That's an excellent question and one that deserves an excellent answer. I don't have it, but the college you intend to visit may. Most schools have special preview sessions where you can join other prospective students in the campus visit experience. Surrounded by dozens of other people going through the same thing you are, you'll find it easier to fit in. If you do end up attending the school, preview sessions are also a ripe time to meet a potential roommate.
If you can't make a preview session, I'd suggest scheduling a Friday visit. This enables you to visit a class, take a tour and talk to professors as you would on any other weekday, but it's also a perfect time to stay the night in a dorm. College students are far more eager to hang out with prospective students when they don't have to study or complete homework for the following day.
Clearly, a campus visit is a rewarding experience. Don't let the chance pass to see the sights of your prospective schools in person, even if your atlas has already shown you that Madagascar has beaches on four sides.
Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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