This week we welcome Associate Director for Guest Experience, Andrew Cohen, to the blog. Welcome, Andrew!
As admission counselors are busy reading applications, campus visit teams are busy preparing for spring visits! From President’s Day until the end of the spring semester we will host thousands of visitors at Georgia Tech. Whether you’re a sophomore or junior beginning your college search and going on your first tours, or you’re an admitted student anxiously trying to make your final decision, tour guides and admission staff are ready to welcome you to campus!
Our office could not function without our almost 150 student employees who work with us. They create social media content, answer phone calls and emails, welcome visitors to campus, and of course give tours. Our office would never be able to function without them! Without them, we would have visitors roaming campus on their own, callers would be stuck on hold, and emails would go into a blackhole of an inbox!
The students who work for our office provide a valuable perspective that our staff cannot provide. So, I asked them to share their advice for you when you visit campus this spring. As they reflect on their college search a couple of years ago and now their experience helping guide prospective students, they provide a unique perspective!
Tip #1: Start up a Conversation and Ask Questions
At some point on a campus tour (at any school), your tour guide will give you opportunities to ask questions. This is your chance to gain insight into what it is really like to be a student at that school. If you don’t want to speak up in a group setting, chat with the tour guide directly while walking from one stop to the next.
Here are questions our tour guides wish they’d asked when they were visiting colleges:
- What community on campus are you the most engaged with, and how did you get involved?
– J’Avani Stinson, Bio 2027
- What’s something you wish you could change about the school?
– Simi Faleye, BME 2026
- What does an average day look like for you as a student?
– Kate Harley, IE 2028
- What’s the campus culture like? (What do people do in their free time, what is there to do outside of class, etc.)
– Madison Tat, ChBE 2027
J’Avani, Simi, Kate, and Madison all have great ideas on how to start a conversation with a tour guide. These questions help you learn what a regular day is like, what clubs and activities exist, or what the one event is that everyone looks forward to all year!
Simi’s recommendation is a good reminder that no school is perfect. When comparing different schools, what are some of the drawbacks, and are these dealbreakers for you?
I went to school in upstate New York and if you visit in the spring or summer, your experience is very different than the long dreary winter that drags into April. This is an example of something you want to know if it will impact your experience (for one of my closest college friends, who is from Hawaii, that first winter was really rough!).
Tip #2: Explore on Your Own
We have a 400+ acre campus and a tour that lasts an hour and a half, which means we only show a small part of campus to give you the overall feel. When you are on a tour, no matter what the size of campus, give yourself time to explore on your own. Depending on what you see on tour, you might want to go back and explore more or see things that you have not yet seen.
Our students recommend:
- Go visit your major-specific buildings.
– Saanjali Ganesh, PUBP 2028
- Visit the dining halls to see whether you like dining hall food.
– Corynn Nurse, PSY 2029
- Check out as much as you can that’s within walking distance! Try to experience what it’ll be like living there: what restaurants can you walk to? What activities are nearby?
– Millie Kitchin, ARCH 2025
Saanjali, Corynn and Millie all have great ideas to spend time after your tour and explore on your own.
Many schools have eateries you are likely familiar with, like Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin, and Jimmy Johns. Since you likely know what those taste like, try the food that is unique to campus, whether that is in a dining hall or food court-style eatery. Take a look at all of the different options before you decide where to eat lunch!
As Millie shared, get off campus too! You are not going to spend all day, every day on campus, so what does the surrounding area offer? Grab a meal off campus, or attend an event or activity nearby. In Atlanta (especially in the spring) there are many different festivals on weekends. If you can explore one of these before heading home, it provides a little bit more insight into the community you will be joining.
Tip #3: Take Advantage of the Time
As you tour campuses this spring, take advantage of every minute you have with tour guides and any other students you meet. They are your most valuable resource when it comes to figuring out whether an institution is the right fit for you. Strike up conversations between tour stops, ask lots of questions, and don’t be shy! They do what they do because they genuinely love sharing their experiences.
Our students were in your shoes not too long ago! I hope their recommendations have helped you gather some new ideas for how to make the most of your campus visits this spring. I know from experience that prospective students, especially admitted students, want to hear from them far more than from my colleagues or me.
We look forward to seeing you on campus this spring! Happy touring everyone!
Andrew Cohen joined Georgia Tech in 2018 and currently oversees the guest experience for all Undergraduate Admission visitors. His love for providing visitors with informative, authentic, and personal experiences started as a student tour guide at his alma mater, Ithaca College. Andrew’s passion for the visit experience has led him to his involvement in the Collegiate Information and Visitor Services Association, where he currently services as the Immediate Past President on their executive board.