Source: VT Admissions [1]
McKinley Owczarski September 28th, 2023
The ultimate goal of so many High School students, graduate and potentially attend the college of their dreams. Finding the college of their dreams, however, is something that can't be taken lightly and is riddled with the overbearing opinions of other people, costly expenses, and more. You always hear the stories of people recommending when you should start visiting colleges. Some say you can start as early as freshman year, others wait until the perfect time of Junior year. Some simply don't care at all. But when is the best time to visit a college campus? In my opinion, it's junior year.
Starting junior year is lined with new experiences. Studying for the SAT and ACT is a harder workload and potentially a job for some. Unfortunately, college at this point should be added to the list. Of course, there is nothing wrong with visiting colleges in your sophomore or freshman year, but the fact of the matter is that for the majority of students, entering High school as a freshman you have no idea what you want to do. For me, my goals changed exponentially from freshman year to sophomore year. Visiting all of these great colleges for Art and then changing your mind after discovering you enjoy chemistry, the colleges you saw might not apply to the new field. The sophomore year would seem to be a good divider between the two but again, typically high school students still take some introductory classes as well as ‘fun’ classes like gym. While they may enjoy that, it also is of low likelihood to develop into a career they would enjoy.
Entering Junior year. The summer beforehand seems like the golden window of opportunity. I would have to disagree. Growing up in a college town you can see the difference with and without college students. If you're not in school, neither is college. The difference in feeling between with and without students is tremendous. While you might have more time and resources to go and travel, it's best to wait until college students are back.
Finally, Junior year is the year I think is best. A key time in the development of possible new possibilities such as a job or harder classes and workload. You have had time to think about what you want to do in college. Even though you can change your major, or declare yourself undecided, finding the right college based on your personal love for a subject is an experience that you won't regret.
As someone who has already a few colleges, they've toured, in their Junior year with students the air itself is perfect. Watching all of the young adults live their daily lives in a place where you might be in a few years is an indescribable feeling. While on these tours I noticed quite a few seniors. Touring a campus as a senior, I believe is perfectly fine. After all, the topic up for debate is when to start. The continuation of tours into your senior year is a perfectly normal thing when finalizing your results and planning to enter college.
So what's the point? Everyone moves at their own pace, but finding the perfect time can make the transition from high school student to college student less stressful for you and your family. College touring is meant to be a way to find out what you want to see in the next four years of your life, we can at least try to enjoy it.
Sources:
“Visiting Virginia Tech.” Virginia Tech, 26 Feb. 2024, www.vt.edu/admissions/undergraduate/visit.html.
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