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How Student-Athletes Can Use Campus Visits to Help Choose the Perfect College

choosing a collegeThe Campus Visit

Visiting a campus will give you a great feel for a school and if you can see yourself spending four years there. There are different scenarios where you could be visiting a campus so you’ll want to put your focus on different aspects of the school while you’re there.

School Run Camps: Enjoy Your Test Drive

When you’re at a camp run by a school’s athletic department you get a very unique perspective on what it feels like to practice and compete on their facilities. If this camp is a resident camp you are living like a student-athlete of that school for a week.

Pay attention to the dorms you’re staying in, the cafeteria you are eating in and the facilities you are practicing on. This is going to be your world if you choose to go to that school. You will not get any other opportunity in the recruiting process like this one to “test drive” the life of an athlete of this school like this one.

The Perspective of an Incoming Student

Since you plan your own agenda on an unofficial visit this is a great opportunity to learn about the campus from the perspective of an incoming student. Take one of the campus tours that can be arranged by the student center. The tour guides are students so feel free to ask them questions about the campus and where students hang out on campus and what they typically do for fun off campus.

A Unique Opportunity to See Behind the Curtain

While on your official visit you should always be evaluating what the coaches have lined up for you. The agenda they set up and the places on campus they choose to show you will give you direct insight to their priorities for their athletes.

If they arrange to show you the building where your major is housed and then the library , for instance, it shows that academics are on their priority list. If they show you all their different athletic stadiums and complexes it shows you how all the athletes on campus are treated like a team. Your official visit is going to give you a unique opportunity to see behind the curtain of many aspects.

Whenever you are on a college campus take that opportunity to explore the school and what it has to offer for you. On your different visits look for different aspects of the school–knowing what to look for is just as important as knowing the appropriate time to check out different aspects of the school.

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