Comments on: Using campus visits to help pick a college

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:53:55 +0000

The “what’s the worst thing about your school” question got ME thinking about what might be the worst thing about it.To be honest I can’t think of anything BAD about my school as in something prospective students might want to avoid.
However, I’d say the constant construction on one project or the other is an annoyance, as there’s almost always some road or path on the campus that’s suddenly closed, seemingly at a moment’s notice and for far longer that they tell you it will be.

By: deanflagel

deanflagel — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:22:25 +0000

Good question! I think everyone would agre that Mason’s largest current challenge is all of our construction. It presents some tremendous opportunties, making Mason one of the largest residential campuses in the nation, making parking far easier, massively expanding recreation and performing arts facilities, establishing incredible centers for engineering and for the visual arts – even opening a new hotel and conference center. Doing any of those would be a massive undertaking for any institution. The combinatino of all of these projects creates a layer of chaos (and mess) on an otherwise beautiful campus. I know well that there are excellent reasons for doing so much so fast: Mason’s rising popularity and the opportunities we’ve been presented may be somewhat unprecedented. I think in general students, faculty and staff are pretty good natured about it, knowing the opportunities all the construction is creating and seeing all the effort that goes into minimizing the impact on the campus – so I guess you could say that while it’s the worst thing it also highlights some of Mason’s strengths.
Apart from the temporary condition of the construction, I think Mason’s two largest strengths can be the worst thing about us for some students. First, Mason is in suburban Washington, D.C. That means that, in addition to a TON of stuff going on all over campus, you have a massive number of activities available all over the region. For some students the number of options is too overwhelming. All of the D.C. schools share this challenges – with the museums, performance venues, night life, parks and recreation facilities, and festivals, in addition to all the usual activities of a major university, you need to be exert a healthy amount of self control to focus on your studies. I find it’s what excites me most about the area, but I recognize that, for some students, the more controlled less distracting atmosphere of a rural college campus will be more supportive of their course work.
Mason is also intensely globally diverse. This has been, for several years, the number one reason students cite for selecting Mason (followed by our D.C. location). Unlike some schools that claim diversity with a few people who look different, Mason students are truly global, coming from over 140 different countries, natively speaking 85 languages. All 50 states are represented, and you will find students of every shape, size, class and color you can imagine. The old phrase “birds of feather flock together” tends to describe most universities, where the students will tend to have a similar look and background, and at many even similar religious and political ideologies. Some students will simply learn best where most of the people in their classes look and think at least somewhat similarly. For those students, Mason is going to be a challenging place. Students who do best at Mason really do embrace diversity in all its flavors, and want to learn in an environment where they will be intellectually challenged and that is likely to mirror their future workplace.
So, three worst things for the price of one…of course, all of which I could also consider Shameless Plugs.

By: xb

xb — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:41:17 +0000

What is the worst thing about Mason?

By: Southlakesmom

Southlakesmom — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:32:11 +0000

I’m guessing Arthur is an admissions professional, so if he encourages prospective students to ask the tour guides a particular question, my take is the tour guides have been prepared for it…again, won’t be uncommon to get a canned or prepped answer. My experience too is that the students who serve as guides are drawn from the students who have had wonderful experiences. My questions would be more like, “what do you know now that you wish you had known coming in?” or “how did you know that this was the right one?” I suspect that Emily up top has the true answer — it just ‘feels right’. And that drives admissions deans crazy because you just can’t quantify a feeling!

By: Arthur

Arthur — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:10:14 +0000

I will always encourage prospective students to ask our tour guides, “If you were University President for a day, what one thing would you change and why?”

By: deanflagel

deanflagel — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:55:40 +0000

yes. Also, one should drive a car before buying it. And go out on a date or two with someone before asking them to marry you. This is the kind of deep, sound, well thought out advice that I’m sure applicants never think of themselves. Thank goodness us professionals are here to keep you all on track!

By: mycollegeguide

mycollegeguide — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:12:39 +0000

Before making a final decision on which college you’ll attend, you’ll need to visit each campus. You can take a guided tour with a peer advocate or walk the campus on your own with your parents. Pay close attention to how you feel during your visit. Do you feel comfortable and safe like you fit right in? Can you see yourself living in the community, going to classes and participating with the students and college life that surrounds you? Your comfort level with the college will play a key role in the decision you make.

By: deanflagel

deanflagel — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:20:24 +0000

Excellent point! I hope that applicants will do more detailed research and not rely on ANY one source or individual. Unfortunately, with so many schools and so little time, I realize it does happen. In any event, my goal is more to make the process of selection less tortuous, and try to get everyone to remember that the idea of “fit” needn’t become an obsession with finding some mythical “perfect” campus.

If it’s any comfort, I’ve rarely been able to find a campus that doesn’t have a parking problem. Our campuses in that regard are a good microcosm for our general transportation infrastructure that isn’t prepared for the volume of traffic we all face.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:21:46 +0000

Okay. That makes some sense, especially in that the answer – or lack of answer – may reveal some institutional values. I get that, and I agree with that for the most part. I also think the main point of the post is awesome, so this is somewhat of a tangential point.

However, I would still submit that the transparency of an admissions counselor should be separate from why you are choosing a school. And I’m saying that as an admissions counselor. Let me explain.

First of all, there are some squirmy reps out there representing schools that might be a good fit for the questioner. As much as an answer can be reflective of an institutional value, and as much as an admissions director should be making sure they are hiring the right kind of people and putting them into the right kinds of positions, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes a school is great, but a counselor is not is my point, and the school shouldn’t be taken out of the mix because of that.

Secondly, there is so much info to help you choose a school these days that if you have done your research and are choosing a school because it is a good fit, a lame answer from a rep shouldn’t make or break a decision to go somewhere. That’s just my two cents anyway.

I have worked in admissions at UMass Lowell for the last five years and I believe very much in transparency in admissions counseling. Having said that, just for fun and for the record, the worst thing about our school is that we have a horrendous parking situation. We already built a new parking garage and the problem does not seem to have been alleviated. In fact, we are intentionally growing, so it will probably get worse before it gets better. So that would be my answer to that question.

By: deanflagel

deanflagel — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:21:15 +0000

Yes to both! It is fun to see counsellor get stuck – even more fun when they stretch the truth (“there’s NOTHING bad about our school”). But also, this really reveals some interesting things about the campus. If answered well it often offers a peek into instiutional values and what, if anything, the school is doing to improve in crucial areas.

As for tour guides, and students met while walking around, yes a helpful question, but I tend to go a bit easier on them as the answers go. Many students are ardent supporters/fans and will endure torture before admitting to ANYTHING negative about their school, and I think that’s entirely fine. Others are very willing to give an honest assessment, while you may get some that actually are upset about something and will paint a pretty negative picture – so I’d bear those possibilities in mind. HOPEFULLY staff members are both sufficiently trained and sufficiently ethical to give a accurrate and honest response.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:13:54 +0000

Interesting advice about asking an admissions counselor the “what’s the worst thing about your school?” question. Fun exercise to be sure, but I’m wondering what the actual point of that question is. Is it to trip up an admissions counselor? Or is it actually to get an answer?

Either way, what useful information is being gleaned from that answer? I’m genuinely asking.

And wouldn’t that question be better asked to a student tour-guide or a random student walking around campus as opposed to asking someone whose credibility is automatically questioned because they are paid by a school to say good things about it?

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:31:20 +0000

While I think all of this is really good advice and I sincerely wish I had taken this approach to my college search because it could have been a lot less stressful, I do sympathize with part of the “perfect school” mentality. Don’t worry Dean Flagel, I haven’t gone to the dark side, let me explain…
Sure some students’ quest to find the “perfect school” is too idealistic and makes the process completely unmanageable, and to those I think Dean Flagel’s advice is really helpful in making the process more rational. But I think what most students mean by finding the “perfect school” is that when they are on campus they just feel comfortable.
To be perfectly honest, I am guilty of the exact mistakes Dean Flagel talks about. I don’t really remember how I was evaluating each college during my visits because in the end I chose the school that just felt right. And because I felt like it was the perfect school I completely freaked out when I applied because I was terrified I wouldn’t get in. In that sense I think it is important to detach yourself a little from the emotional side of the process and make it more about specific things you are looking for as Dean Flagel suggests.
I do think there are some schools where individuals feel comfortable and others where they don’t, and that feeling can be legitimate, but it shouldn’t be the strongest factor in your decision-making. In hindsight, I probably would have had a more stress-free college search process if I had given each college an opportunity to be a fit for me rather than latching on to the first college that “felt right.”