I am a tour guide at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa (not Cornell University, we were here first) and just wrapped up an extremely busy but successful Iowa Private College Week. A lot of times, getting a tour of campus is where the magic happens. It can be a challenge (although not impossible) to get a sense of a school you have never seen before. For me, I knew within the first few minutes of my fall visit that Cornell College was my tentative first choice of schools and by the end of my visit I was convinced (although I didn’t tell my parents until March) that I would call Cornell home. So, as someone who not only was drawn into my school by a campus visit but who also is a tour guide going on 3 years of experience, I have a few thoughts to share with any of you high-schoolers beginning the college search. (Disclaimer: this article is based on my own thoughts, experiences, opinions, and knowledge of being a tour guide at Cornell College. If you would like to schedule a visit, please follow this link:http://www.cornellcollege.edu/admissions/visit-cor...).

Senior year goes by so fast, and everyone says that and it’s cliché by this point and you’re sick of it and you’re ready to just get out and be an adult already. Well, firstly, cut that out. You can always look forward to things, there will be a plethora of big events in your life to look forward to. Don’t spend those extraordinary days in between wishing away time. There will be plenty of time to be a “real adult” – you know, the full-fledged goes-to-bed-at-9pm-and-wakes-up-early-to-drink-black-coffee-and-go-to-a-job-they-*probably*-don’t-even-like-just-to-make-money-just-to-spend-it-on-taxes-and-things-they-don’t-need kind. So, look forward to college, but take your time scheduling visits and spend time with your friends and family doing what you love.

When you are ready to start those college visits, try to sign up for a visit at least a week beforehand. You, your teachers, and the college’s visit team will appreciate that extra planning time more than you think. Then you can line up a ton of things you’re interested in and most likely match you up with a guide who has similar interests. Do you really want to know what something is like? The best person to ask is a student who is going through it.

Take advantage of all of the "extras" that you can, too. Usually a standard visit would consist of meeting with an admissions representative and getting a tour and that’s all. If it’s offered, sit in on a class, meet with a professor, have lunch, do an overnight stay, meet with a coach or director. If you don’t know where to start, meet with a staff member in an office that a lot of students enrolled at the school use (i.e. residence life, a career exploration office, the registrar, financial aid, etc.).

Don’t be afraid to ask. Seriously, ask anything. We (tour guides and visit team) don’t know you. We don’t know what you know or don’t know. We have tons of information that we are paid to know and learn just as a byproduct of being a student at the school you are visiting. If you want to see something specific, we can do that. If you want to check to see if a professor is around, we will do that. It’s our job, but it’s also our valuable time we could spend napping or doing our own homework. Don’t waste that time and don’t act like yours isn’t valuable as well. Don’t have anything to ask? Ask your tour guide a question about themselves or their friends. We are experts in that. Also, try these:

• What has been your favorite experience at *insert school name here*?
• Study abroad. Have you gone? Has a friend? Is it easy to do? Cost?
• Does the school have *insert literally anything you’re involved in and may want to continue in college*?

Also, please remember that your tour guide is probably just a nervous as you are. We put on a good show, but we have no idea if what we are saying is actually helpful or you actually kind of hate us. So, have a conversation or just be responsive in general. We will be more at ease and you will actually hear things you’re interested in, not just a bunch of really old history about buildings that no one really cares about except tour guides and alumni of the college (sad, but true).

So, with that, I hope you feel a little more excited and prepared to visit schools. These visits are designed for you. The experience is supposed to be interactive and give you a sense of whether or not the school is the right fit for you both inside and outside of the classroom. It’s okay to be nervous, but be nervous-excited because this is just the beginning of discovering what opportunities are really out there for you. Good luck!