Questions For Parents To Ask On a College Tour
Christen Arafeh 
When you go to visit the schools on your child's college list, don't think that you're just there to be along for the ride or be a chaperone. Having a list of questions to ask on a college tour will definitely help give you and your child an idea whether this can be your dream school or not.
If you have time and resources, a big part of the entire college planning journey is visiting the campus of any potential school your child is considering to study in. Once you do decide to visit any of the schools, having a list of college tour questions ready is definitely useful so that you and your child can get an even better idea whether the school and its program is the right one for your child and if this school will complete your child's college search.
One thing to keep in mind to maximize the limited amount of time you have during the tour is that any prospective college's website contains an abundance of information which you and your child may want to take a look at first. Avoid asking questions if the information is already there on the website or school guide. Usually numbers related to statistics such as freshman retention rate, graduation rate, student-faculty ratio, average class size and other similar information are published on the school's guide or website. Other stuff like what majors the school is famous for, who are the notable alumni, what school facilities are available and more are usually published on the school's website. Unless you need further information or clarification, review the website on your way to the tour to avoid these questions to ask deeper and more informative questions which would be difficult to ask via email or online.
With this in mind, we have created a list of relevant college tour questions for parents to ask either before or during a school visit.
Basic Questions You Can Ask During a College Visit to the College Tour Guides
Usually, when you go on a campus visit with your child, you will be assigned a college tour guide. Most of you and your child's college tour questions are generally directed towards the tour guide as the guide will be the one accompanying you on your tour most of the time.
Here are some basic but important questions parents can ask the college tour guides to get some unique insights and personal experience about the school. They will give you and your child an idea why someone would choose to be in the school you're touring and what being a freshman in the school is like.
- Why did you choose this school?
- What about your first visit to this campus stood out?
- What makes this college different from other schools you looked at?
- What’s your number 1 complaint about your school?
- What is it like to be a first-year student here?
- When you first came to the school, how did you get involved?
- How accessible are administrators, registrars, financial aid officers, etc.?
College Visit Questions Related to Academics
There are questions the parent or child can ask the college tour guide relating to the school's academic program. Avoid the more common questions which may already exist on readily available information from the school such as their website.
Here are some questions about the college's academic program that parents can ask.
- Were you able to take most of your first-choice classes?
- Is it easy to change your major?
- How often are collaborative work or group presentations required?
- Do seniors complete a capstone project?
- What kinds of hands-on or practical experiences have you had in and outside of the classroom?
- Do classes often connect to the community or with outside businesses and organizations?
- How have online classes gone due to COVID-19? Has that been a seamless transition?
Questions Parents Can Ask About College Faculty and Support
The faculty of the school that your child will be attending will be essential with regards to your child's experience, learning and even possibly ability to graduate in college. This may be the same for the support that the school can provide to your child.
With this in mind, here are some questions a parent can ask the college tour guide regarding the school faculty and support.
- Are most of your classes taught by professors or teaching assistants?
- Are professors available for research with students?
- Do your professors hold office hours, and will they meet with you outside of class?
- How satisfied are you with academic advising?
- What tutoring services are available? Are tutoring services free?
- What types of resources are available for students with disabilities?
Questions Parents Can Ask About the Student Body
A parent can ask questions during a college tour about the student body or community to get a better feel of what it feels like to be a student in school.
This is especially useful if you come from another country or an ethnic or minority family or if your child is a first generation student. This helps give you a better idea if your child will have an easier child adjusting to the students around him or her.
- What makes the student body unique?
- Is there diversity on campus?
- Are there many students from other countries?
- Do students of different races and classes interact easily?
- How does the school build community and foster cultural understanding?
- Are there a lot of fraternities or sororities and do lots of students belong to fraternities or sororities?
- Which clubs and student organizations are popular?
Questions About Campus Life That Parents Can Ask During a College Visit
Knowing what questions a parent should ask regarding life on campus is also essential towards seeing whether or not the college is a good fit for the child. Parents should try to ask questions to the college tour guide that will give them an idea of what daily college life will be like if their child decides to choose this school.
Here are some questions which we believe are better answered personally by a college tour guide or people from the school instead of asking them through an email or the phone.
- What is a typical day in school like?
- What do you do when you're not in class or what do you do on campus during school breaks?
- What do you do on the weekends?
- What is the social scene on campus like?
- How are first-year roommates assigned?
- How easy or hard is it to change roommates if you're not a good match?
- What options are there for club and intramural sports or fitness classes?
- What are the sporting events like here?
- Do many students attend varsity athletic games?
- What are some of the school's main events or traditions?
- What are the big annual events on campus?
Questions to Ask on a College Tour for Parents About the School Campus and Community
The school's facilities and the surrounding community are very important towards your child's ease of adjustment, growth, and learning when he or she enters college. Being in a nice and safe environment while at the same time having good facilities will make it easier for your child to want to attend and stay in college and complete his college courses.
Here are some questions parents can ask about the school's facilities, safety and community.
- How are the dorms?
- Do most students usually live on campus all four years or move off campus when they're allowed to?
- What makes this community special?
- Do you like living here?
- Is there anything you don't like about this community or living here?
- What do the campus and community feel like from a safety perspective? Is the area safe to walk around at night? What kind of safety measures are in place?
- How would you describe the surrounding community and the relationship the college has with it?
- What kinds of things are there to do in your school's hometown?
- What are fitness facilities like? Do they get crowded?
- Are computer labs open 24 hours? Are they easy to access or do they get crowded at certain times?
- What health and mental wellness services are available on campus?
- How's the food on campus? Are there a lot of options? Do the dining halls accommodate special dietary requirements?
- Is it easy to get around without a car? What transportation options does the college provide?
- What's your favorite place on campus?
- Is there a writing center to help with essays and research papers?
- How is the WiFi on campus?
College Visit Questions Parents Can Ask About Career, Work, and Research and Study Abroad Opportunities
It is important for the parent and the incoming student to know what opportunities the college offers. These include internships, work-study, study-abroad, leadership and community service. Then parents also need to know what the school offers with regards to career services and employment search support.
It is not only important to know what happens to your child in academics and what happens while your child is in college. It is also essential and very useful to know what the school offers in terms of opportunities for career enhancement and growth. What support the school offers post graduation for the student is also important.
Here are some college tour questions parents can ask regarding career, work, research and study abroad opportunities that will surely be of help with their child.
- Are internship, work-study or co-op opportunities available through the college?
- What sort of help does the college provide for finding internships?
- Is it common for freshmen and sophomores to get research or internship opportunities?
- Are there a lot of internships available in the community or do you have to go farther away?
- How easy is it to find summer jobs and other kinds of work through your school?
- Can students find summer jobs through the college or in the local community with ease?
- What types of research opportunities do students have access to outside of the classroom?
- What type of career guidance is offered by this school?
- Are career advising services available after graduation?
- What other help does the career services office provide?
- How active is your alumni network? Is the alumni association visible on campus?
- Do employers recruit students on campus?
- Does the school help students get involved in the community? What opportunities are available?
- What options exist for service learning in the community?
- Are there opportunities to build leadership skills on campus?
- Is studying abroad an available or popular option?
- What percentage of students choose to study abroad?
Questions to the Admissions Officer
Asking the admission office questions may not necessarily happen at the same time as the college tour but it is also possible that you will drop by the admissions office while you are already visiting the school campus. There are certain admissions related questions that you can ask to the admissions office which would be better if you can personally ask them to the admissions officer instead of maybe sending an email. Getting an answer to these questions directly can help with both the college admissions process and with deciding whether your child will be able to get in.
- How are applications evaluated? What are the different things you consider?
- How/when do incoming freshmen get course selection advising for their first-semester classes?
- Does legacy play a part in admissions and, if so, who is considered legacy?
- Who gets priority in the course registration process – is it by grade level, honors programs, etc.?
- Are admission requirements different if my child is homeschooled?
Questions Parents Can Ask the Financial Aid Officer
Since you as a parent want to lessen the amount of college tuition and fees and other expenses as much as possible, it is important to know what financial aid options are available and what the details surrounding them are.
The financial aid office may not necessarily be a part of the college tour, but if possible, you should either contact the financial aid office or pay them a visit and ask these questions which we've listed to give you and your child a better idea of what to expect in terms of financial aid as your child goes to college.
- What percentage of students receive financial aid?
- How much financial need does the college typically meet?
- How do outside scholarships affect a financial aid package?
- Are merit-based scholarship estimates built into the school's net price calculator?
- Do financial aid packages remain the same over time or are they adjusted to reflect tuition increases?
- How much extra money should I budget for costs beyond room, board and tuition?
- Are there other extra expenses we’ll need to be prepared for, like activity fees, biology lab fees, etc.? Can you give us a list of those additional expenses?
- How is work-study awarded? Does work-study affect the amount of financial aid the college student receives?
Beyond Tours - Navigate College Admissions and Get Into Your Dream School
We've given you a list of questions parents should ask during college tours. This isn't a comprehensive college visit checklist but rather a list of questions you can ask during a visit to the school campus to give you and your child a better insight as to whether the school is the right one to pick for your child's college.
Aside from visiting the college and asking questions, the college application process can get complicated and parents and their child can use all the help they can get to make the process easier. Watch our free 6-minute college prep webinar to give some direction and help make applying for college easier.
For a more comprehensive guide on the college application process, our College Prep Project workbook gives you all the information and step by step guidance that you need to get into college so you feel more prepared and confident in the application process.
About the Author
Christen is the founder of Hive Education. She is passionate about helping families navigate the college application and admissions processes. She helps students set goals to work towards their own debt-free degrees with her personalized scholarship searches, scholarship courses, and by sharing her scholarship strategies that won her over $900,000 in for her own college education. With four years of experience in higher education, two years working with teens in inner city high schools in New Orleans, and starting her first college consulting company during a pandemic in 2020 she strives to make college accessible for everyone, especially for first generation, low income, and minority students. In her spare time she loves to share her love for books with her daughters. You can find her on Facebook.
And don't forget to follow us on socials for latest updates.
As Seen On
