Academy Life

College Trips: What to Know

Remi Storch, Senior Staff Writer|September 18, 2015

Caroline Swenson (senior) and Gretchen Swenson (sophomore) visited Florida State University over the summer. While they both said it was very hot when touring, they agreed the campus was beautiful!

COLLEGE: when rising into junior and (especially) senior year, it seems that is what everyone is talking about. It is a necessity to go and visit each college you are interested in to really know if you can end up spending the next 4 (or more) years of your life there.

Visiting colleges sound stressful?? Don’t stress!!! Here are some tips to help plan the perfect college trip!!

Plan early
- go on the website for the college you want and schedule a day or two to figure out what works best
Plan to meet up with people you know at the school
- before you go, reachout to any people you know and see if you can meet up with them and if they can show you something the campus tour does not
Do a tour and an information session on campus
- schedule these in advance and make sure everything is organized and ready to go when you are on campus
Try to sit in on a class and talk to students who are there now
- ask questions!! Don’t be afraid to ask questions to students you see walking around, chances are they are super nice!
Explore the city and the surrounding areas
- get to the college a day or so early to really explore and see what the area has to offer
Eat on campus in a dining hall
- Try the food!! See if you can see yourself eating this food everyday, 3 times a day!
Go to a football game or a sporting event
- get a feel for the school spirit and student involvement!
See if you can see a dorm room in person
- chances are the University you are visiting will have a model dorm room for you to see, and if not, then try and see if someone will show you inside their room!

“I visited Furman, Clemson, UGA, UNC, Wake Forest, Elon, and UF. I honestly don’t know which one is my favorite. They all have pros and cons, and I’m still deciding whether a big or small school is best for me. I did really like UNC, because it's not too big, but big enough to have a "college town” feel, a great location, and a very good school. My advice to anyone planning on going on college tours would be to map out your time; give yourself enough extra time before or after the tour to explore the town around the college because that's definitely an important factor to consider!” Audrey Dunn — Credit: Audrey Dunn
“I visited Furman, Clemson, UGA, UNC, Wake Forest, Elon, and UF. I honestly don’t know which one is my favorite. They all have pros and cons, and I’m still deciding whether a big or small school is best for me. I did really like UNC, because it’s not too big, but big enough to have a “college town” feel, a great location, and a very good school. My advice to anyone planning on going on college tours would be to map out your time; give yourself enough extra time before or after the tour to explore the town around the college because that’s definitely an important factor to consider!” Audrey Dunn

“I know I wanted an SEC school, so I was immediately attracted to Auburn; everything about Auburn I love. Also, I like the idea of going to the rival school of my brother’s school." Gabi Vivero — Credit: Gabi Vivero
“I know I wanted an SEC school, so I was immediately attracted to Auburn; everything about Auburn I love. Also, I like the idea of going to the rival school of my brother’s school.” Gabi Vivero

Need some tips on what schools to visit? Here are a list of schools that are most popular among AHN girls and where you will likely see some AHN alums wandering around.

The college trips are full of excitement and new experiences!! This is a new beginning so don’t make them stressful, take the time to appreciate the schools and have a great time!!