Junior year is packed full of challenging schoolwork, unending standardized tests, and trying to plan your future beyond the walls of high school. Eleventh grade is also the year in school where students begin touring colleges and opening their minds and options to a plethora of institutions scattered across the country. There’s a huge difference between driving through campus and getting the visual piece placed in your mind than actually embarking on a student-lead tour. These tours are the key to see how you really feel about and fit into a campus and most (if not all) are completely free, but be sure to check with the school’s admissions office for any unexpected fees.

Once on the tour, tour guides are happy to help by answering any questions you may have about the school, but if you don’t come prepared with questions you may not get all you can out of the experience of actually being on campus. It’s so important to go into a tour with some questions prepared, this could be mentally or even written on a note in your phone.

Here’s a few ideas of questions to ask on a tour to get the ball rolling for you. These will be totally helpful to completely understanding if a college offers exactly what you want.

Housing

• Are freshmen required to live in the dorms?
• Are the residence halls scattered throughout campus or in one central area? (This is a very important question, you want to make the best decision on a dorm that’s closest to most of your classes.)
• Which dorms are co-ed and which are not?
• Do prices vary between dorms?
• How many students are in each room or does it vary?
• Are roommates assigned or do you choose roommates?
• Are there fraternities and sororities?
• How far is greek row from campus?

Sports

• How big are sports events on campus?
• How good is the school spirit?
• Are most of the sports pretty equally supported?
• How hard is it to be a college athlete and maintain your schoolwork at this particular college?
• Are intramural sports offered?

Clubs/Organizations

• How many clubs are there?
• What are the most unique clubs? ( This question in really good to highlight the culture of the school and can make it stand out.)
• Can students start their own clubs, if so how is it done?

Greek Life

• How big is the greek community at the school?
• Is the greek life a large part of the school’s culture?
• How mixed are the non greek students with greeks?
• What is the reputation of greek students on campus?

Acedemics

• How big is the average class size?
• How well are relationships established between professors and students?
• What is the most popular major?

Other

• What are the study abroad opportunities like?
• How many students are on campus?

These are just a few of the many questions you can ask about your dream schools. The best way to figure out exactly where you want to attend is to ask about all the things you’re curious about. And what better way than to ask a student living the life at that particular school? Absolutely nothing!