It’s that time of year once again when prospective freshmen must spend their weekends scrambling from campus to campus, trying to decide where to spend the next four years of their lives. For many graduating high school seniors, a campus visit is merely a formality, the epilogue of a difficult and nearly complete decision-making process. After all, they have already compared the U.S. News and World Report rankings of all the colleges to which they were admitted or set their hearts on the school with the highest likelihood of securing them a spot in medical school, so what else is there to know? While rankings and placement records may be valuable information, we at Student Life urge prospective freshmen to take full advantage of their visit to Wash. U. Exploring the campus and asking the right questions can help inform your decision in a way that statistics and facts cannot.

No doubt many of you have heard from tour guides and brochures that Wash. U. has an impressively small student-teacher ratio (7:1 to be exact). This abstract and aggregated statistic, however, offers little in the way of tangible or useful information. You can learn far more about what kind of classroom environment you can expect by investigating specific classes and departments in which you plan to participate.

A philosophy major and a pre-med will have different experiences with classroom intimacy and interaction with professors. Spend some time visiting classes that interest you and talking with the professors who teach them, and you will learn much more than a student-teacher ratio could ever tell you.

And although academics will be a central part of your college experience, you’ll only be in class for about fifteen hours a week, so ask around to find out what you can do with the remainder.

Not all colleges are identical when it comes to extracurricular activities and clubs. Do you want to be a member of the defending Division III national champion men’s basketball or women’s volleyball teams? Well, there’s only one place where you can do that, at least for next season. Maybe you prefer singing, in which case you’d be happy to learn that Wash. U. has several award-winning a capella groups.

Self-aggrandizement aside, you shouldn’t take these kinds of things for granted at the university which you choose to attend. Instead, you should make a real effort to investigate what kinds of organizations you can join to meet new friends, showcase and develop your talents and make a difference in your community.

You should also not underestimate the importance of the quality of the bare necessities-food and shelter-that are provided by your school.

Some schools guarantee that they will provide you with a roof over your head for all four undergraduate years, while others may stuff you into a forced triple and leave you to fend for yourself afterwards. Find out whether you have a reasonable chance of getting the kind of housing you want where you want it and whether the organization of the dormitories will encourage strong communal relations. Food may seem like an even more trivial matter, but you may find otherwise when you have to accept what they offer three times a day. Vegetarians and students who keep kosher should be especially careful to investigate the accommodations offered by their prospective school.

And finally, make an effort to discover what lies beyond the campus boundaries. Though you could survive all four years on most campuses without ever leaving, realistically the community surrounding your school will be an important part of your life.

Are students able to find internships in the surrounding areas? What types of opportunities do students have for political engagement outside of their university? Is there one movie theater in town or are there several types of entertainment venues? How accessible is the city? Ask students questions about the areas surrounding the universities you’re considering and find out what it really is. And as you consider Wash. U., ask students about the Midwestern influence on the university-many students are surprised, some pleasantly, to find that St. Louis is not New York.

We want your college experience to be the best it can be. In order to make sure you find the university that is the best fit, don’t just rely on tour guides to sell you the campus. Make sure you think holistically about the next four years of your life and find out the information that will help you make the best decision for your specific circumstances. After all, these are supposedly the best years of your life.

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