Make the most of your February vacation

Today marks President's Day ... Happy birthday President Washington!

Today is also the first day of many school's February vacations.  So as you can expect, there are a lot of students visiting colleges today with their family.  What better opportunity to visit schools?  A day when the student has no school, and the parent doesn't have to work?

Here are a few tips to students who are just starting out their college search this February vacation ... To you Juniors starting out, and you late blooming Seniors, here you go!

1. Make appointments!  Don't just show up at a school and expect open tours all of the time.  At many universities tour guides are either volunteers or paid student workers (in our case, our tour guides  are strictly volunteers).  Tours are scheduled around THEIR schedules to make sure they are not taking time away from their studies.
   
2. Ask questions.  You just spent all of this time driving to the school, parking (hopefully not running in to anything on campus), and getting to the Admissions Office.  Don't be afraid to ask questions about your major, resources made available to you, etc.  Oh ... and don't be afraid to ask STUDENTS.  Admissions Counselors have to say nice things.  The students actually sit in class and eat the food every day.
   
3. Keep an open mind.  Many schools may have older buildings that are not the most beautiful on the outside.  We have a couple of those here at UNH ... But remember, you don't judge a book by its cover.  It's what is inside that counts.  Wait until after you take your tour to decide if a school is for you.
   
4. Partially ignore #3.  You have to be able to envision yourself at a school too.  So while you are touring, try to picture yourself in the campus center taking a coffee break or in the recreation center going for a run.  If you can't picture yourself there, look elsewhere.
5. Last but not least ... Don't let the price tag scare you (yet)!  Oftentimes schools with higher price tags are able to offer more as far as financial aid goes.  So whatever the Admissions or Financial Aid Counselor tells you the cost of the school is, remember that they are telling you the cost before scholarships, merit-awards, grants, and other forms of aid are offered to you.  You don't want to rule out your dream school just because you think it will cost too much.  Apply, file your FAFSA , and see what you qualify for first.  As a resource, check out my post about finding financial aid in tough economic times.