{"id":3001,"date":"2011-02-02T08:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-02-02T14:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nsr-inc.com\/\/?p=3001"},"modified":"2011-02-02T08:01:01","modified_gmt":"2011-02-02T14:01:01","slug":"the-parents-recruiting-guide-part-iv-campus-visits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/the-parents-recruiting-guide-part-iv-campus-visits\/","title":{"rendered":"The Parent\u2019s Recruiting Guide, Part IV: Campus Visits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting On Campuses Should Be a High Priority <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Look at your kid’s\u00a0search\u00a0for a college scholarship this way — it’s a hands-on, face-to-face\u00a0discovery process.\u00a0 Nothing replaces your kid visiting college campuses and meeting the people who work and reside there.\u00a0 No Web site, friend or advisor’s opinion, or sweet talk from an admission counselor\u00a0handing out candy can adequately do a campus and coach\u00a0the justice they deserve.<\/p>\n

Web sites are marketing tools for colleges meant to attract students, nothing more.\u00a0\u00a0Other people’s experiences are theirs, not your kid’s.\u00a0 And,\u00a0family advisors are often biased toward\u00a0particular colleges, good or bad.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For those reasons, don’t make the first time you\u00a0see\u00a0your kid’s campus\u00a0be when she moves in.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your child will, hopefully, be spending four years at a college.\u00a0 She’ll be\u00a0waking up in a dorm,\u00a0walking to classes, sitting in classrooms, visiting professors in their offices, eating two or three times a day in the cafeteria,\u00a0communicating with administrators, and spending a lot of time in\u00a0the coach’s office and working out in the\u00a0facilities.\u00a0 She’ll only be coming home\u00a0four or five times all\u00a0year.\u00a0 Her college essentially will become her home.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A cursory, one-time examination of\u00a0a campus and interaction with its people\u00a0should not be enough\u00a0to\u00a0confidently make a decision about where your\u00a0kid goes to school.\u00a0\u00a0Put more effort\u00a0into it and\u00a0demand that your kid\u00a0do the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our best advice is that you and your kid should spend a full weekend\u00a0on or around the campus and do the following:<\/p>\n