College Tour Etiquette

This week, prospective students and their families have descended upon the Tufts campus in droves. If you're a sophomore or junior, you may be commencing your college tour process. Pack comfortable shoes and sunglasses: you're going to need them!I've been a tour guide at Tufts for the past 4 years (and have averaged 8 tours per week over the past 2 summers)! However, way back when, I was the younger sibling who tagged along with my sister and parents on a tour of every college in the United States.

I completely commiserate with individuals who are attempting to navigate the murky waters of this process. After a while, the statistics start to swim in your head and the college campuses morph into the same vague image of a quad with some brick buildings around it.

So here's my take on college tours:1) Think of this as a movie theatre. Turn off your cell phones, put away your snacks, and please keep your comments to a minimum or just whisper them discreetly, at the very least. Over the years, I've had people conduct business meetings via cell phone, eat sub sandwiches, and make loud comments while I try to walk backward and scream fun facts about the School of Engineering. One of my fellow tour guides even encountered prospective students making out in the middle of her tour! Please be considerate of the other people on your tour. Most tours are an hour in length, so please refrain from disruptive activities.


2) Duck out quietly. Look, sometimes you're going to arrive at a college campus and instantly know that it's not the place for you. Good. Trust your gut reactions. However, sometimes you'll be halfway through a tour when you realize that you're just not gelling with the school. Just traipse off from the tour group without causing a scene. My family and I did this at a school that didn't mesh well with my sister. No harm, no foul.

If, however, you know in advance that you'll need to cut your tour short--you have to drive to another school, for example, or you need to meet with an athletic coach on campus--please inform your tour guide before the tour begins. That way, he or she won't take it as a personal slight.
3) Pay attention. Sometimes, prospective students base their opinion of a school entirely on whether or not they like their tour guide. Remember, this tour guide is ONE student out of the X people who attend that school and is in no way representative of the entire student body. So, while your tour guide is talking, take a few moments to find hidden "clues" about college life. Look at the other students walking around the campus. Do they look happy? Would you fit in with them? Look at the posters and signs. Is the campus vibrant and active? Look for blue lights and electronic call boxes. Is the campus safe? Sometimes, nonverbal signs are as telling as the script your tour guide is projecting to the crowd.


4) Record the memorable aspects of your visit. Whether that means taking photos, jotting down notes, or creating a folder filled with information packets from the colleges you visited, organize your personal recollections. Frequently, visitors to Tufts also take tours of other schools in Boston and the entire Northeast in the same vacation. If you're organized, when you return home, you'll be able to sift through the information and objectively compare and contrast your college choices.


5) Thank your tour guide! Chances are, he or she is an unpaid or minimum wage worker who genuinely loves his or her college. If you loved the tour, shake his or her hand; it'll brighten his or her day! Inquire about tour guide evaluations back at the admissions office.


6) Follow up. If you are genuinely interested in the school, ask for the tour guide's email or mail a thank you card to him or her care of the admissions office. Feel free to call the general admissions telephone number for detailed or personal inquiries.


7) HAVE FUN! When you tour colleges, you're basically window-shopping for the insitution of higher learing that you will attend for four years. It can be just as helpful to rule out schools you don't like as it is to find schools you do. In the process, you'll learn more about what makes you tick and what type of environment will best help you flourish, academically, socially, and personally.