Best Questions to Ask Colleges
For a prospective student or parent comparing colleges and deciding which questions to ask on a college visit, at an information session or on a call with admissions. The 100 questions are grouped by subject: academics, admissions, cost and aid, campus life and support, outcomes, and a last group for getting past the pitch. Each has a note on what a good or bad answer tells you, and some say who to ask or what to get in writing. It is written with colleges in the United States in mind, so where a note leans on a rule, ask how it works at the college in front of you.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Academics
What are the most popular majors here, and which programs is the college best known for?
Why ask it
The largest majors usually have the most course sections, professors and visiting employers, so they show where the college puts its weight. If your subject is not among them, ask how many students graduate in it each year. A handful can mean close attention or a thin choice of courses, and the department will know which.
In my intended major, how many students are in the introductory courses, and in which year do classes get small?
Why ask it
A low student-faculty ratio and a 300-seat first-year lecture can both be true at the same college. Get the number for your own subject instead of the campus average, and find out whether the small discussion sections are led by the professor or by a teaching assistant.
How available are professors outside class, and do they teach first-year courses themselves?
Why ask it
Posted office hours are the minimum. Ask how soon a first-year can expect a reply to an email, whether the people giving first-year lectures are the same professors who advise and supervise in the major, and who writes recommendation letters for undergraduates. Then put the question to a student, because this is one where the official answer and the lived one can differ.
How easy is it to change majors, and how many students end up doing it?
Why ask it
Plenty of students change direction once they have taken a few courses, so the cost of switching matters even if you feel certain now. Get the deadline, any grade requirement, and whether courses already taken still count toward the new major. A switch that adds a semester also adds a semester of bills.
How does course registration work, and how often are first-years closed out of a class they need?
Why ask it
Registration order usually runs by class year or credits earned, which puts new students near the back. Find out what happens when a required course fills: a waiting list, an extra section, or an override from the adviser. Where students routinely wait a year for a prerequisite, four-year plans slip.
Can undergraduates do research with a professor, and how early can they start?
Why ask it
Nearly every college says yes, so ask how it happens: through a funded program with an application, or by emailing professors until one has room. Then get the number of undergraduates in your subject who do it, and whether the work is paid, for credit or voluntary. In the arts and humanities the equivalent is studio, archive or project work alongside a faculty member.
Which majors have an enrollment cap or a separate application, and what does it take to get in once I am a student here?
Why ask it
Programs such as nursing, engineering, business and computer science are often capped, so being admitted to the college is not always the same as being admitted to the major. Find out the grade cut-off and how many applicants clear it, then ask what happens to the students who miss.
How will my AP, IB or dual-enrollment credits count: toward my major, toward graduation, or only as placement?
Why ask it
Credit that only places you into a higher course saves no tuition, and the rule can change from one department to the next inside the same college. Get the policy for your own scores in writing before you count on finishing a term early.
Is my adviser a professor in my department or a professional adviser, and how many students does each one have?
Why ask it
Advising ranges from a named faculty member with scheduled meetings to a shared inbox. The caseload is the figure to get: an adviser with several hundred students can check your requirements but will not know your plans.
Of the students who start the introductory sequence in my major, how many go on to finish the major?
Why ask it
Some programs use the first-year courses to thin the class. A department that knows the figure and can say what it does for students who are struggling is a different place from one that calls the losses rigor.
If I arrive undecided, when do I have to declare a major, and what helps students choose?
Why ask it
Colleges differ on how long you can stay undecided, and the deadline is rarely the real limit. The catch is a major that expects a particular math or science course in the first term, so find out which ones are hard to enter for a student who starts late.
What does every student have to take regardless of major, and how much of the first two years does that fill?
Why ask it
A heavy core leaves less room for a second major or a change of direction, and a light one leaves the planning to you. A sample four-year plan for your subject shows it at a glance: count the slots that are free.
Does the college run on semesters, quarters or blocks, and how many courses does a student take at once?
Why ask it
Quarters move faster and let you sample more subjects, with exams coming round sooner. The calendar also decides when summer internships can start and how a term abroad fits, so it shapes more than the timetable.
How much of the teaching in my department is done by full-time faculty, and how much by part-time instructors?
Why ask it
Part-time instructors can be excellent teachers, but many are on campus only for class. That makes office hours, recommendation letters and research supervision harder to come by, and it is the department's share that matters to you, not the college's.
Can I sit in on a class in my intended major, today or on a return visit?
Why ask it
An hour at the back of a real class shows what the tour cannot: whether students speak, how the professor handles a wrong answer, how many screens are open to something else. Departments usually want notice, so if today is too late, get the name of the person who arranges it.
Has my department gained or lost professors in the last few years, and is any required course offered only every other year?
Why ask it
A department that is shrinking shows it first in the schedule: electives disappear and a required course runs once every two years, which can hold up graduation for anyone who misses it. Past course schedules are often public, so this is an answer you can check.
How realistic is a double major, or a minor in a different school, inside four years?
Why ask it
Catalogs say it is possible. What counts is how many students in your major actually do it, and whether it takes summer courses or an overloaded term, both of which cost money.
Can I take classes in another school of the university, or at a partner college nearby?
Why ask it
At some universities each school keeps its seats for its own students, so an arts student cannot get into a business or computing course. If you want to combine fields, this matters more than the length of the list of majors.
Is there an honors program, and what do its students get that others do not?
Why ask it
Sometimes it means smaller sections, early registration and separate housing, and sometimes a thesis and a line on the transcript. Check whether you apply as a first-year or can join later, and what grades it takes to stay in.
How does study abroad fit my major, and do the credits come back as requirements or only as electives?
Why ask it
In majors with a tight course sequence, a term away can push graduation back. A department with approved partner programs and a list of courses that transfer has already done the work for you.
Is there a thesis, capstone, clinical placement or senior project, and can I see what last year's students did?
Why ask it
The final-year requirement is often what you show an employer or a graduate program. A department proud of the work keeps a list of titles or placements and will hand it over.
Admissions
What do you look for in an applicant, beyond grades and test scores?
Why ask it
The stock answer is that the whole file is read, which is true and tells you little. Ask what decided close cases last year: the difficulty of the courses taken, the essay, the recommendations, or a match with a particular program. An officer who can describe a recent admit who was not the strongest on paper is showing you how the reading really works.
Are SAT or ACT scores required, optional or not considered, and what share of admitted students sent them?
Why ask it
Testing rules have shifted a good deal in recent years, and they can differ by program or for merit scholarships inside one college, so check the rule for your own entry year. Where scores are optional, the share of admitted students who sent them and the range they scored in are the best guide to whether sending yours helps.
Does applying early decision or early action improve my chances, and what do I give up by doing it?
Why ask it
Early decision is normally a binding commitment, made before you can set one aid offer beside another, while early action normally leaves you free to choose. Ask what share of the class is filled in the early rounds and whether early applicants are considered for the same merit awards. If money will decide it, ask the aid office what happens when a binding offer turns out to be unaffordable.
Is demonstrated interest a factor in admission here, and what counts as showing it?
Why ask it
Some colleges log visits, event sign-ups and even opened emails, and others ignore all of it. If it counts, make sure today is recorded under the name and email address on your application. If it does not, you can stop keeping score of how often you have been in touch.
Do I apply to the college as a whole or to a particular school or major, and does that choice change my odds?
Why ask it
At many universities the engineering, nursing or business school admits separately and is harder to get into than the rest. Ask whether an applicant turned down by a first-choice program is considered for a second, and whether applying undecided helps, hurts or makes no difference.
Does asking for financial aid affect whether I am admitted?
Why ask it
Colleges call themselves need-blind when ability to pay plays no part in the decision and need-aware when it can, and some are need-blind for one group of applicants and not for another. Ask which applies to you, including on the waitlist and for international or transfer applicants. Then ask what happens to a student who does not apply for aid in the first year and needs it later.
Are interviews offered, and do they count toward the decision?
Why ask it
An evaluative interview goes into the file, and an informational one is mostly a chance for you to ask questions. Find out which this is, who conducts it (staff, a current student or a graduate in your area), and whether turning one down is read as a lack of interest.
Cost and aid
What does one year here cost in full, once housing, food, books and travel are added to tuition?
Why ask it
Colleges in the United States publish this as the cost of attendance, and it is the figure aid is measured against. Check what the estimate assumes about housing and travel: a student in a single room who flies home will spend more than the allowance. The gap between that total and your aid offer is what the family has to find.
What share of students receive financial aid, and does the college meet full demonstrated need?
Why ask it
The share receiving aid can include loans and small awards, so it flatters. Meeting full need is the stronger claim, and even then ask how much of a typical offer is grant, how much is loan or work, and whose formula decides what a family can afford. A college that does not meet full need should be able to say how large the usual gap is.
Which financial aid forms do you require, and what is the priority deadline?
Why ask it
In the United States most colleges want the FAFSA, some add the CSS Profile or a form of their own, and a state deadline can fall earlier than the college's. Where funds are handed out in order of filing, a late form can mean a smaller offer for the same family. Ask whether everything has to be filed again each year.
Can an aid offer be appealed if our finances change or another college offers more?
Why ask it
Many aid offices will review an offer after a lost job, medical bills or a change in the household, and some will look again when a comparable college has offered more. Ask what the process is called here, which documents it needs and who decides. Put the request in writing and keep it specific.
Which fees are charged on top of tuition, and do any depend on my major or program?
Why ask it
The advertised tuition often leaves out mandatory fees, and some programs add charges of their own for labs, studios or equipment, or bill a higher rate in the later years. Have the full figure for your program sent to you, so that you are comparing like with like.
How close does your net price calculator usually come to the offer a family actually receives?
Why ask it
A net price calculator is a federal requirement for most colleges in the United States, and some predict far better than others. If staff say theirs runs off for families with a business, divorced parents or uneven income, ask whether the aid office will work up an early estimate instead.
Is tuition locked at the rate I start on, or does it rise each year, and does the college's grant rise with it?
Why ask it
A grant that stays flat while tuition climbs shrinks every year, and a first-year offer can include a one-time scholarship that does not renew. If the answer is vague, get the increases for the last four years and do the sum yourself.
Is every applicant considered for merit scholarships, or is there a separate application and an earlier deadline?
Why ask it
The largest awards sometimes close weeks before the regular application deadline, or need an extra essay or an interview. It is an easy thing to discover in January, when it is too late, so collect the dates for every college on your list now.
What do I have to do to keep a merit scholarship for all four years?
Why ask it
Renewal usually depends on a minimum grade average and a full course load, and sometimes on staying in one major. Get the cut-off, the number of students who lose the award after the first year, and whether it can be earned back. A high cut-off in a major that grades hard is worth knowing about before you multiply the award by four.
When a student brings in an outside scholarship, what does the college reduce first: its own grant, the loans, or work-study?
Why ask it
Some colleges cut their own grant by the amount of an outside award, which leaves the family no better off. Others apply it to loans or work-study first. Get the policy before spending a winter on scholarship applications.
Is there a rule that students must live on campus or buy a meal plan, and for how many years?
Why ask it
A residency or meal plan requirement fixes a large part of the bill whether or not you would choose it. Check for an exemption for students living with family, and price the cheapest plan you would be allowed to pick.
What do students in my major spend on books, software and equipment in a typical year?
Why ask it
The official allowance is a campus-wide estimate. An architecture or nursing student can spend far more than an English major, and a department that has moved to free or library-held materials will be glad to say so.
Is health insurance required, what does the college's plan cost, and can I waive it?
Why ask it
Colleges that require coverage often bill for their own plan automatically unless you file a waiver by a deadline. It is a line that rarely shows up when families compare tuition, and whether a family plan from another state is accepted depends on the college.
If my aid includes work-study, are there enough jobs to go round, and what do they pay?
Why ask it
A work-study award is permission to earn the money. The job still has to be found. Find out how many students with an award end up in a position, and whether the hours fit around a schedule heavy with labs or rehearsals.
Does my aid apply to study abroad, summer courses and winter terms?
Why ask it
Each can be billed differently from a normal term. A program the college runs itself often carries your aid with it and an outside one may not, so ask how it works here before you plan around either.
If I need a ninth semester or a fifth year, does the college's own aid continue?
Why ask it
Institutional grants often stop after eight semesters, which is when a student who changed major or lost a term needs them most. The rule tells you how much room for error your plan has.
Are there scholarships I can apply for after I enroll, from my department or from donors?
Why ask it
Awards for continuing students are rarely mentioned to applicants and can go to whoever thinks to apply. The useful details are who administers them, when the application opens, and whether a first-year is eligible.
Is the bill due by the term or monthly, and what happens if a payment is late?
Why ask it
A monthly plan without interest changes what a family can manage without borrowing. The second half matters as much: where an unpaid balance blocks registration, a small shortfall can turn into a lost semester.
Among graduates who borrowed, what does the typical student owe, and does that count loans taken by parents?
Why ask it
An average that includes students who borrowed nothing looks reassuring. You want the figure among borrowers only, and since published debt numbers often leave out parent and private loans, ask what this one covers.
Campus life and support
For how many years is campus housing guaranteed, and what share of students live on campus after the first?
Why ask it
A guarantee that covers the first year only means finding a lease for the second, which in some college towns means signing months ahead. Ask what rent runs to nearby and where juniors and seniors end up. Where most students move off campus, much of the social life tends to move with them.
How are first-year roommates matched, and can I request a particular person or a room change?
Why ask it
Matching runs from a detailed questionnaire to random assignment, and some colleges let you name a roommate while others discourage it. The room change is the more useful half: how soon after move-in one is allowed, and who a student talks to first. A named process is a better answer than 'most people work it out'.
What is a typical weekend like, and how many students leave campus for it?
Why ask it
A college where a large share of students go home on Friday is quiet for those who stay, and a weekday visit will not show it. Ask what is open and scheduled on a Saturday: dining halls, the library, the gym, events. Then ask a student what they did last weekend and see whether the two accounts match.
Where does social life actually happen here: residence halls, clubs, Greek houses, off-campus apartments or the city?
Why ask it
Every college has traditions and big weekends, so a list of them says little. Where an ordinary Thursday night is spent says more, and if one of those places dominates, ask what the students who are not part of it do.
Which clubs, teams and ensembles are open to anyone, and which need an audition, a tryout or an application?
Why ask it
At some colleges the popular organizations are selective, and first-years find themselves applying to clubs straight after a year of applying to colleges. If there is something you plan to keep doing, find out how many people try for a place and how many get one.
How big a part do fraternities and sororities play, and what share of students join?
Why ask it
On some campuses Greek life is one option among many, and on others it runs the weekend. The timing of recruitment matters too: a first-semester rush sorts friend groups before you have met anyone else.
Is there an active community for my faith on or near campus, and how do classes and exams work around religious holidays?
Why ask it
A chaplaincy listed on the website might be a full-time staff member with a building, or a student group that meets when someone books a room. Absences for holy days may be covered by a college policy or left to each professor, so ask how it works here.
How many students commute, and what is here for them between classes?
Why ask it
On a mostly residential campus, commuters can miss whatever happens after five. Look for lounges, lockers and parking, and for clubs that meet at times someone with a bus to catch can make.
What are the housing options beyond a standard double: singles, suites, themed or substance-free floors?
Why ask it
Options that exist on paper can have long waiting lists. The number to get is how many first-years who request a single or a particular community receive one. Housing for a medical need often runs through a separate process with its own deadline.
What do the dining plans cover, and how does the college handle allergies and religious or dietary needs?
Why ask it
Anyone with celiac disease, a serious allergy, or kosher, halal or vegan needs should ask to speak to the dining staff. A named person and a dedicated station is a different answer from a label on the salad bar.
What do students use the town or city for: jobs, internships, food, or nothing much?
Why ask it
A college next to a city is not the same as a college whose students use it. If the honest answer is nothing much, campus has to supply everything, so look harder at what it offers on a quiet weekend.
Can first-year students keep a car on campus, and how do students without one get around?
Why ask it
Some colleges bar first-years from bringing a car and many charge for a parking permit, so check both the rule and the price. If the answer is that nobody needs one, test it: how do students reach a supermarket, a pharmacy or an internship, and does the bus run at night and at weekends?
How safe are the campus and the streets around it after dark, and what does the college run at night?
Why ask it
Listen for specifics: a shuttle or walking escort and the hours it runs, how residence halls are locked, who patrols and whether they are sworn police or security staff. Then ask a student whether people actually use the escort service, since one with a long wait goes unused.
How does the college tell students about a crime or emergency on campus, and where can I read its annual security report?
Why ask it
Colleges in the United States that take federal aid have to publish campus crime statistics every year, so this is one answer you can check. Read them with care: a low count can mean few incidents or few reports, and staff who say so are being straight with you.
What is the drinking and drug culture like, and what happens after a first violation?
Why ask it
Staff will describe the policy, so press on what happens in practice, and on whether a student who calls for help for a friend is protected from discipline. Then put the first half to a student and compare the two answers.
How diverse is the student body, and what do students from my background say about being here?
Why ask it
The first half has a number. The second half needs a person: ask to be put in touch with a student organization that fits, and ask its members what the brochure photographs leave out.
Do residence halls and dining stay open during breaks, and is there a charge to stay?
Why ask it
It matters for international students, students far from home, and anyone who cannot leave for a week in November. Some colleges close housing over breaks, so find out how it works here and where the students who stay get their meals.
How do students get home from here: the nearest airport or station, and is there help reaching it at breaks?
Why ask it
Travel adds cost and decides how often a student comes home. Some colleges run shuttles at the start and end of term, and some leave it to a ride board and a long taxi fare.
What does orientation cover, and what happens in the first six weeks to settle new students in?
Why ask it
Two days in June and a first-year seminar that runs all term are different levels of care. Listen for a first-year course, a peer mentor or a residence hall program, and for whether any of it is optional.
When a student has a problem and does not know which office handles it, who is the one person they go to?
Why ask it
Large colleges split help across a dozen offices, and a student in trouble is the person least able to work out which one. A class dean, a college adviser or a residence director with a name is a good answer. 'It depends on the issue' means the student does the sorting.
Is tutoring free, who does it, and does it cover upper-level courses too?
Why ask it
Nearly every college lists a tutoring center, and the details separate them: drop-in or by appointment, peer or professional, first-year courses only or the whole major. Bring up the writing center and the one subject you expect to find hard.
What happens when a student fails a class or needs to drop below full-time?
Why ask it
Two rules decide how much a bad term costs: whether a retaken course replaces the old grade, and what falling below full-time does to aid, housing and insurance. Each is set by the college or its aid office, so ask how it works here.
What is in place for a student whose parents did not go to college?
Why ask it
Good answers are specific: a summer bridge program, a named adviser, a peer mentor, help reading an aid letter. Transfer and international students should ask the same question about their own group, since those offices are usually separate.
How do I set up disability accommodations, and how early should I start?
Why ask it
A plan from high school does not carry over on its own. The student has to request accommodations and the college usually wants its own documentation, so go to the disability office directly for what it needs and how long approval takes.
What does the health center treat on site, what are its hours, and where do students go when it is closed?
Why ask it
Some centers are a nurse and a referral, and others are a full clinic with a pharmacy. A student with a chronic condition should ask how prescriptions, specialist visits and insurance billing work in this town.
Is there a limit on counseling sessions, and what happens when a student reaches it?
Why ask it
Campus counseling is often short-term, with longer treatment referred to providers in town. The follow-up is who helps with that referral, and whether a student without a car can get to those providers.
If a student needs a medical leave mid-semester, what happens to their aid, their housing and their place?
Why ask it
Listen for a process that sounds routine: who approves the leave, what is refunded, and what coming back requires. A general statement about the counseling center is not an answer.
Is there emergency money for a student who hits a sudden shortfall, and how quickly is it paid?
Why ask it
A broken laptop or a flight home for a funeral is the kind of cost that pushes a student out. What matters is who decides, whether it is a grant or a loan, and whether students hear about the fund before they need it.
How does the college respond when a student reports sexual assault or harassment?
Why ask it
Staff should be able to answer this without flinching: who a student can tell in confidence, what support follows, and how the formal process runs. If a group tour is the wrong place, put it to the dean of students office.
If something went seriously wrong, who would contact a parent, and what is the college not allowed to tell us?
Why ask it
In the United States, the privacy rights over education records pass to the student once they are in college, so parents are generally not told about grades without consent. Find out which release forms exist here, then settle it as a family before move-in.
Outcomes
What percentage of students graduate in four years, and how does that compare with the six-year rate?
Why ask it
Colleges often quote the six-year rate because it is a standard reported figure, and it is always the higher of the two. A wide gap means a lot of students are paying for extra terms. Ask what holds people up here: full courses, changes of major, co-op terms or money.
What is the first-year retention rate, and why do the students who leave say they are going?
Why ask it
Retention is the share of first-years who come back for a second year, and it is a quick read on whether students are content and can afford to stay. The reasons tell you more than the number. Money, distance from home and being shut out of a major each point to a different problem, and a college that asks leavers will know the mix.
What share of last year's graduates had a job or a graduate school place within six months, and how many of the class does that figure cover?
Why ask it
The headline rate depends on who was counted. Ask how many graduates the college heard from, whether a job that needs no degree counts as employed, and whether part-time work does. Then get the same figure for your own major, which is worth more to you than the one for the whole college.
Which employers and graduate schools have taken the most graduates from my department in recent years?
Why ask it
A placement percentage can count part-time work and graduate school together, which makes it close to meaningless. Named destinations let you judge whether they are places you would want to end up.
What do graduates in my major earn in their first few years, and where does that figure come from?
Why ask it
A survey that only part of the class answered tends to hear from the people with good news. In the United States you can set the college's figure beside the federal College Scorecard, which lists earnings by field of study.
Are the graduation rates different for my major, or for students on significant aid, than for the college as a whole?
Why ask it
A campus-wide rate can hide a group that fares much worse, such as students in one demanding program or students who work long hours to pay for it. A college that keeps the breakdown and shows it to you is at least watching the gap.
Are internships or co-ops built into the degree, and are they paid or taken for credit?
Why ask it
Built in means a department arranges the placement. Otherwise the student hunts for one alone. Where an internship is taken for credit and credit is billed as tuition, an unpaid placement costs money, so ask how it is charged here.
Can a student get a stipend from the college for an unpaid internship or a summer of research?
Why ask it
Without a stipend, the most useful summers go to students whose families can cover the rent. Get the number of awards against the number of applicants, and check whether the money stretches to housing in another city.
What does the career office do for first- and second-year students, and how many students does each counselor see?
Why ask it
An office that most students first visit in the spring of senior year is a resume service. Earlier contact is the thing to look for: employer visits, job shadowing, a required session, or career staff attached to your own school or major.
How do students actually reach alumni: a searchable directory, a mentoring program, or their own cold emails?
Why ask it
Every college says its network is strong. The test is the mechanism: whether a current student can look up graduates by employer, and whether those graduates have agreed to be contacted.
For students aiming at medical, law or graduate school, what advising is there, and how is the acceptance rate counted?
Why ask it
A rate that counts only the applicants a college committee chose to endorse will look better than one that counts everyone who applied. Find out which it is, and whether a pre-health or pre-law adviser is assigned or has to be sought out.
What share of graduates in my field pass the licensing exam at the first attempt, and is the program accredited?
Why ask it
For nursing, teaching, accounting, engineering and similar fields, the pass rate measures the program directly and is often published by the licensing board. Some licenses also require a degree from an accredited program, so confirm both.
Can graduates keep using career services, and for how long?
Why ask it
First jobs often do not last, and the second search is the one nobody prepares you for. Some colleges keep advising and job listings open to alumni for life, and some close the account at commencement.
Past the pitch
What does this college do differently from the ones applicants most often compare it with?
Why ask it
Nearly every college claims small classes, caring professors and a close community, so an answer made of those words is no answer. A good one names something you could check: a required first-year course, a co-op term, an unusual calendar, a rule about who teaches. Asking which colleges it most often loses admitted students to is a quick way to learn its real peers.
Which students are happiest here, and which ones tend to transfer out?
Why ask it
A college that says everyone fits has not thought about it. Listen for a description you can measure yourself against: students who like a small town, who want a pre-professional track, who are comfortable in big lectures. The second half is the test of candor, and staff who answer it are easier to believe on everything else.
Can you put me in touch with a current student and a professor in my intended major?
Why ask it
Admissions can usually arrange it, and the people they choose will be enthusiastic ones, which is fine: enthusiastic people still answer direct questions. Ask the professor about courses and research, and ask the student what they would change. If the office cannot find anyone in your subject, that says something about the department's size or its ties to admissions.
How is the college doing financially: has it run a deficit lately, and is its accreditation in good standing?
Why ask it
Small colleges have closed or merged at short notice and left enrolled students to transfer. Accreditors in the United States publish their warnings and probation notices, so the second half can be checked, and a college on firm ground answers the first without getting defensive.
What do you spend money on here that other colleges your size do not?
Why ask it
Budgets show priorities better than mission statements do. Small seminars, a new stadium, a large advising staff and a climbing wall are all choices, and you are picking which one your tuition pays for.
What will be built, renovated or closed while I am a student here, and what does that disrupt?
Why ask it
The new science building in the brochure can mean your department teaches in temporary rooms for two of your four years, or that a residence hall is out of use and housing is tight. Get the opening dates, and ask what the plan is if they slip.
Is enrollment growing, shrinking or steady, and have any majors been cut or merged because of it?
Why ask it
A growing college squeezes housing and course seats, and a shrinking one trims programs and staff. The follow-up is what happens to enrolled students when a major closes: the college should commit to letting them finish it.
What did the last student survey or student government campaign ask the college to fix?
Why ask it
Complaints that reached a survey or a student government agenda are on the record, so staff cannot wave them away. Put the same question to a student: the complaint you hear from two people is the one worth taking seriously.
What would I notice here in February that I cannot see today?
Why ask it
Most visits happen on a college's best days, in good weather with the campus on show. Asking about the dull middle of the year gets answers about the cold, the workload and whether people go home at weekends, and that is the college you would be living in.
If I am admitted, can I come back to stay overnight or follow a student through a day of classes?
Why ask it
A second visit after the offer, on an ordinary weekday, is the nearest thing to a trial run. Admitted-student days in the spring are a show in their own right, so ask for a plain day too, and whether there is travel help for families who cannot afford a second trip.
Getting straight answers from a college
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Ask the right person
Admissions staff for numbers and process
Retention and graduation rates, deadlines, testing and early-round policy, housing rules, and how majors are declared. Ask them to send figures by email instead of quoting them at you, and to pass you on to the office that owns anything they are unsure of.
The financial aid office for anything with a dollar sign
Fees, renewal, outside scholarships, work-study and payment plans. Admissions staff tend to give the general answer and the aid office the exact one, so call or visit it yourself and note who you spoke to.
The department for the academics
Who teaches the introductory courses, how many students finish the major, what happens when a required course is full. Email the department office or a professor in your subject a week or two before you visit, with two or three specific questions and the date you will be there.
Specialist offices for specialist needs
Disability services, the health center, dining and career services each know their own rules better than a tour guide does. Most will take a short call or a brief meeting from a prospective student who asks ahead.
Current students for everything else
Food, weekends, whether people leave campus, how hard the first term is, what the college is slow to fix. Ask students who are not paid to lead the tour: the person next to you in the dining hall line will do.
Using a list this long
Choose eight or ten per conversation
Nobody gets through every group in one visit, and reading from a page turns a conversation into an inspection. Take the questions whose answers could change your decision, and start with Cost and aid if money will decide it.
Ask every college the same core questions
Comparison only works when the questions match. Keep one sheet per college with the same handful of headings, and fill it in the same day, before the next campus overwrites this one.
Look up what is published first
Tuition, the list of majors, graduation rates and crime statistics are on the college's site or in public data. Spend the meeting on the follow-up instead: why the figure is what it is, and what it looks like for a student in your major and your situation.
Let the student lead
A student learns more from questions they chose, and it is their four years. A fair split is the student taking Academics, Admissions and the campus life questions while a parent takes cost, health and safety, ideally in a separate conversation with the office concerned.
When it is a call, an email or a fair
Most of these work without a visit. By email, send three numbered questions and say which program you are considering. At a fair table you have a couple of minutes, so ask one question and get the name of the person who can answer the rest.
On the visit itself
Before you arrive
Check that classes are in session on the day you plan to come: a campus on break or in exam week does not look like itself. Book the tour and the information session, then ask separately for a class to sit in on and a meeting with the aid office, since those are rarely part of the standard visit.
Which questions to ask on a college visit
Start with the ones that only work in person: whether you can sit in on a class, what a weekend here is like, what you would notice in February. The information session is led by admissions staff, so that is the place for the Admissions group, and the Cost and aid group goes to the aid office while you are on campus. Anything that is only a figure can go in an email afterwards.
What to do while you are there
- 1Sit in on a class in your intended subject, ideally a large required one and not a showpiece seminar.
- 2Eat in a dining hall at a normal hour and notice whether people stay to talk or eat and leave.
- 3Walk from the first-year residence halls to the library and the buildings your classes would be in, and time it.
- 4Ask two students the same question and compare the answers.
- 5Write down what you liked and what bothered you before you leave the parking lot, because visits blur together fast.
The same week
Email anyone who promised you a figure, thank them, and restate what you are waiting for. An answer in writing can be set beside another college's and quoted back later. A number mentioned on a tour cannot.
Mistakes that skew the comparison
Treating the tour as the college
Tours are led by selected students along a selected route. Nothing you see on one is false, but it is not a sample.
Comparing sticker prices
Two colleges with the same published tuition can cost very different amounts once aid, fees and housing are counted. Compare final offers, not published prices.
Taking the average for your answer
Class size, aid, graduation and earnings all vary by department. A campus-wide figure describes a student who does not exist, so ask for the number for your major.
Only asking questions with pleasant answers
The useful questions are about failing, leaving, changing course, and running out of money. Every college has students doing all four, and how staff talk about them is part of the answer.