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3 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CAMPUS TOUR GUIDE
Visiting a college campus is one of the best indicators to help you find your home away from home. Here are three simple questions you can ask during your visit to ensure you’ve truly found the college for you.
Hey, I’m Bri! I am a current student and Campus Visit Assistant here at Northern Michigan University. My job is to show prospective students around campus and field any questions they may have along the way. I’m here to make your college search experience just a little bit easier!
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Visiting a college campus is one of the best indicators to help you find your home away from home. Here are three simple questions you can ask during your visit to ensure you’ve truly found the college for you.
Hey, I’m Bri! I am a current student and Campus Visit Assistant here at Northern Michigan University. My job is to show prospective students around campus and field any questions they may have along the way. I’m here to make your college search experience just a little bit easier!
Growing up, college was not a topic of conversation at my house. As a first-generation student, I truly fumbled through the college admissions process. One of my biggest regrets was never taking a formal tour of Northern Michigan University. Flash forward to 2021 and I have now taken thousands of students on tours of NMU’s beautiful campus and I’d like to think that I know the in’s and the out’s of the institution. Campus tour guides are truly a resource, and if you ask the right questions you too can learn the in’s and out’s of NMU!
The first thing you need to know about taking a campus tour is that you should introduce yourself. It might seem silly but I promise you, the more information your tour guide knows about you, the better the outcome. Some information you might convey to your guide is your name, hometown, expected area of study, what you like to do in your free time, and any other important information about what makes you, you. If I were to go back in time and take a tour of NMU, this is what I would say:
“Hi, my name is Brianna and I’m from Marlette, Michigan. Marlette is a tiny town in the Lower Peninsula with more cows than people! My hope is to major in Marketing and minor in Communication Studies. I’m truly a busy body and I hope to get involved on campus as soon as I get my bearings. Outside of class, my favorite thing to do is spend time outside or hang out with friends.”
Once your guide knows a little more about you, they will be sure to point out specific buildings, student organizations, staff offices, or any other pivotal information that might apply to you.
Now, the most important part of a campus tour is to remember to ask questions. During a standard campus visit, guides should answer textbook questions like class size, how to find a roommate, parking passes, on-campus resources, and much more. However, 9 times out of 10, that information is already available on the website, so how do you get to know the parts of campus that can’t be easily described through a statistic? That’s what I’m here to tell you!
Question #1: What is one thing you wish you would’ve known about college before you came here?
This is a great way to learn all of the pro-tips of the university that you're touring. If you have a great tour guide they might tell you that you do not need that Keurig K-Cafe, the dining hall has free coffee that is just as good! They might also tell you that joining an on-campus organization that interests you is the fastest way to make like-minded friends. Or, they might tell you that the basketball games are the most fun games to be at and that you won’t want to miss out on them! If I was posed this question on tour, I would be sure to tell my students this:
“NMU is absolutely teeming with opportunity. If you are a student with drive and a vested interest in a specific subject, speak up about it. Because we are a relatively small campus, opportunities for students to lead, explore, and gain a greater understanding of what interests them are abundant and you will meet so many amazing people along the way.”
Question #2: What do you do when you are not in class?
This question is very telling, so pay attention! If your tour guide laughs at this question, that probably means that there is so much to do on and off campus that they are struggling to pick just a few activities to share. However, if your guide is grappling at this question, it might be time to start investigating the campus a little bit more. Some great follow up questions to this would include:
Do things change once you move off-campus?
Where do I find out what events are happening on campus?
Do most students go home on the weekends?
What percentage of students live on-campus?
If you have a phenomenal tour guide, these questions might even be answered by their response to the initial question. However, if you feel like you still don’t have a great understanding of student-life on campus, feel free to follow up with your guide about areas that are still unclear to you.
Question #3: What kind of programs are in place to ensure student success at this university?
Let’s not forget why college is SUCH an important decision, for the education! Guides can rattle off student-to-faculty ratios, after-graduation placement rates, average class size and so on but the easiest way to find out what programs are going to benefit you in your individual journey, is to ask for the specifics. For example:
Does this university have tutors for a wide range of majors?
How accessible are these tutors? Is this service free?
How do office hours work for the university?
When I get this question on tour I am sure to let me student know these key bits of information:
NMU offers free tutoring for all students, full-time or part-time, in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) which is located on the bottom floor of Harden Hall. In the LRC you will find both the writing and tutoring center where there are tutors for a wide range of subjects. My favorite part about the LRC is that the students that work there have gotten a B+ or higher in the class that they are tutoring for and they have also received professor recommendations. This is a great service because those students have sat in the same class as you! They know the frustrations you may be having and they are typically just a bit more relatable than your professor may be. Additionally, the Student Success Center (located in The Woods Residence Halls) also provides academic support within the comfort of your own residence hall.
Office hours are also readily available if you have more broad or overarching questions about the course you’re taking or the class structure itself. Your professor's office hours procedures will be outlined in their syllabus which will be distributed during the first week of class. Additionally, if you need help with success outside of the classroom, Career Services is located in the C.B. Hedgecock Building. Career Services can help you find a job that works for you, edit your resume and cover letter, and they even offer the ‘Career Closet’ which provides a business formal outfit of your choosing for when you land that interview!
At the end of the day, student success should be at the forefront of everyone at the University’s mind, so this is truly a loaded question.
Touring colleges can be intimidating and overwhelming so it’s important to remember why you are there. Find the aspects of college that are most important to you and then seek them out! Remember, your guide is a resource so ask questions no matter how big or small. There really is a home away from home out there for everybody, so whatever institution you end up choosing, I hope this helps!
Growing up, college was not a topic of conversation at my house. As a first-generation student, I truly fumbled through the college admissions process. One of my biggest regrets was never taking a formal tour of Northern Michigan University. Flash forward to 2021 and I have now taken thousands of students on tours of NMU’s beautiful campus and I’d like to think that I know the in’s and the out’s of the institution. Campus tour guides are truly a resource, and if you ask the right questions you too can learn the in’s and out’s of NMU!
The first thing you need to know about taking a campus tour is that you should introduce yourself. It might seem silly but I promise you, the more information your tour guide knows about you, the better the outcome. Some information you might convey to your guide is your name, hometown, expected area of study, what you like to do in your free time, and any other important information about what makes you, you. If I were to go back in time and take a tour of NMU, this is what I would say:
“Hi, my name is Brianna and I’m from Marlette, Michigan. Marlette is a tiny town in the Lower Peninsula with more cows than people! My hope is to major in Marketing and minor in Communication Studies. I’m truly a busy body and I hope to get involved on campus as soon as I get my bearings. Outside of class, my favorite thing to do is spend time outside or hang out with friends.”
Once your guide knows a little more about you, they will be sure to point out specific buildings, student organizations, staff offices, or any other pivotal information that might apply to you.
Now, the most important part of a campus tour is to remember to ask questions. During a standard campus visit, guides should answer textbook questions like class size, how to find a roommate, parking passes, on-campus resources, and much more. However, 9 times out of 10, that information is already available on the website, so how do you get to know the parts of campus that can’t be easily described through a statistic? That’s what I’m here to tell you!
→ Question #1: What is one thing you wish you would’ve known about college before you came here?
This is a great way to learn all of the pro-tips of the university that you're touring. If you have a great tour guide they might tell you that you do not need that Keurig K-Cafe, the dining hall has free coffee that is just as good! They might also tell you that joining an on-campus organization that interests you is the fastest way to make like-minded friends. Or, they might tell you that the basketball games are the most fun games to be at and that you won’t want to miss out on them! If I was posed this question on tour, I would be sure to tell my students this:
“NMU is absolutely teeming with opportunity. If you are a student with drive and a vested interest in a specific subject, speak up about it. Because we are a relatively small campus, opportunities for students to lead, explore, and gain a greater understanding of what interests them are abundant and you will meet so many amazing people along the way.”
→ Question #2: What do you do when you are not in class?
This question is very telling, so pay attention! If your tour guide laughs at this question, that probably means that there is so much to do on and off campus that they are struggling to pick just a few activities to share. However, if your guide is grappling at this question, it might be time to start investigating the campus a little bit more. Some great follow up questions to this would include:
- Do things change once you move off-campus?
- Where do I find out what events are happening on campus?
- Do most students go home on the weekends?
- What percentage of students live on-campus?
If you have a phenomenal tour guide, these questions might even be answered by their response to the initial question (What do you do when you’re not in class?) However, if you feel like you still don’t have a great understanding of student-life on campus, feel free to follow up with your guide about areas that are still unclear to you.
→ Question #3: What kind of programs are in place to ensure student success at this university?
Let’s not forget about why college is SUCH an important decision, for the education! Guides can rattle off student-to-faculty ratios, after-graduation placement rates, average class size and so on but the easiest way to find out what programs are going to benefit you in your individual journey, is to ask for the specifics:
- Does this university have tutors for a wide range of majors?
- How accessible are these tutors? Is this service free?
- How do office hours work for the university?
When I get this question on tour I am sure to let me student know these key bits of information:
“NMU offers free tutoring for all students, full-time or part-time, in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) which is located on the bottom floor of Harden Hall. In the LRC you will find both the writing and tutoring center where there are tutors for a wide range of subjects. My favorite part about the LRC is that the students that work there have gotten a B+ or higher in the class that they are tutoring for and they have also received professor recommendations. This is a great service because those students have sat in the same class as you! They know the frustrations you may be having and they are typically just a bit more relatable than your professor may be. Additionally, the Student Success Center (located in The Woods Residence Halls) also provides academic support within the comfort of your own residence hall.
Office hours are also readily available if you have more broad or overarching questions about the course you’re taking or the class structure itself. Your professors office hours procedures will be outlined in their syllabus which will be distributed during the first week of class. Additionally, if you need help with success outside of the classroom, Career Services is located in the C.B. Hedgecock Building. Career Services can help you find a job that works for you, edit your resume and cover letter, and they even offer the ‘Career Closet’ which provides a business formal outfit of your choosing for when you land that interview!”
At the end of the day, student success should be at the forefront of everyone at the University’s mind, so this is truly a loaded question.
→ Takeaway
Touring colleges can be intimidating and overwhelming so it’s important to remember why you are there. Find the aspects of college that are most important to you and then seek them out! Remember, your guide is a resource so ask questions no matter how big or small. There really is a home away from home out there for everybody, so whatever institution you end up choosing, I hope this helps!