College Trips 101

TO HELP PREPARE our two daughters for college, we started saving nearly two decades ago. And when it came time to visit half a dozen schools in the Northeast, we were just as diligent, carefully mapping our route, finding nearby hotels and checking with the schools for tour times. But as we soon discovered, the first real hurdle to college admissions can often be finding the admissions office. On a trip to Swarthmore with our younger daughter this past spring, we found ourselves in a sleet storm, huddled around a sign that promised the admissions office was in the vicinity. Problem was, there was no arrow, no building sign, no well-marked map and no one in sight to ask. We tried several doors before finally finding it — on the second floor of a nearby administration building.

If you have a high schooler at home, there's a good chance you'll be hitting the road this season for the annual rite: checking out colleges. About 1.5 million high school students will enter four-year colleges next year, and most will have scouted out their new homes at least once before they move in. Sure, some visits can be fairly personalized; Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, lets you book a meeting with a faculty member, or lunch with a student. But most are more like a grueling business trip. All the more reason to plan for a reasonable schedule, decent hotels, good food and even an entertaining side trip.

To keep from getting lost like we did, print out a campus map before you leave home; note the parking lots, the admissions office and the Bookstore — for buying T-shirts. And consider a GPS navigation system for the rental car. In addition to helping you find out-of-the-way schools, it will help locate hotels and restaurants along the way.

Many families visit during spring break and the summer, but that can be a mistake. At the University of Chicago one summer, the tour guide took us to a seminar classroom and talked passionately about his small classes and intense discussions. Over the following months the marketing letters hit our daughter right in her inner geek; one, from admissions dean Ted O'Neill, lovingly described the course catalog as a favorite book to keep by your bedside. After she was admitted, she returned for a second visit — and got a shock. The students she met seemed almost antisocial and overly proud of their excessive work ethic. The clincher: a popular campus T-shirt that read, "Where fun comes to die." O'Neill says the slogan, a joke that was started by students, has taken on a life of its own.

If possible, visit when school is in session, and let your kids make discoveries of their own. You can guide the search with questions about location, size and social life. But your kids will have their own priorities. My eldest insisted on multiple Chinese takeout joints. The youngest would like a Starbucks nearby. A friend's son was taken with a campus with great teachers and rigorous coursework. But the bonus was revealed later in a call home, when he lowered his voice and confessed, "Mom, the girls are so hot!"