Questions To Ask When Visiting A College With Your Senior

Now is the time when seniors in high school and their parents are beginning to look at colleges. While going to visit the campus and meeting with heads of the different departments, talking to athletes from the school, and representatives from different fraternities and sororities can be exciting for your senior, you’ll need to sit down with them before you leave home and make up a list of questions to ask. Here are some of my suggestions.

Does the school offer the course of study that your child is interested in?

No matter how beautiful the campus is, or how many games the football team wins, if the school doesn’t offer the degree you are interested in it would be a waste of your time and money to go there. 

Are Freshmen allowed to have a car?

Some schools do not allow their freshmen students to bring a car to school. They simply do not have room for parking for everyone, so they limit the privilege of car ownership to upperclassmen. 

If you are allowed to have a car, where do  you recommend going for service and repairs?

You can always look for an auto dealership like Chrysler of Culpepper  in Culpepper, Virginia if you are choosing to go to Germanna Community College in Culpepper.  But also knowing the name of a mechanic who does simple repairs at a fair price can be a good thing as well. 

Are students allowed to cook in their dorm rooms? 

You’ll want to know the answer to this question in order to decide whether or not to send a microwave oven or a toaster oven with your child when they go off to school. Some schools allow this, others do not. Most dorms have a communal kitchen for all residents to use. You can also purchase a meal ticket that gives your child access to meals in the school cafeteria. 

Are there book scholarships available? 

I would have never thought to ask this question. However, my husband was in an auto accident two weeks before my daughter went off to college at the University of Alabama. We did not have the money to get the books she would need for her first semester classes. I called the school and asked if I could sign a promissory note for her to get her books. The person I was talking to explained that they had book scholarships available, but not very many people knew about them. She arranged for my daughter to get one, and she was able to get her books as needed from the school bookstore. 

You may think of other questions you would like to ask. Just keep adding to your list, and be prepared when you get there. Going off to college can be scary for both parent and child.