Touring Colleges With Your Kids? Here Are Some Tips To Help The Process!

If you're like me and just starting out with college tours and applications with your kids, it can be a complicated and confusing process.

I went to college as an adult, so this is all new territory for me. After visiting Nevada and Arizona from Pennsylvania to tour the two schools my son is most interested in, I figured I would share some of what I learned along the way.

My 17-year-old son has dreamed of going to the University of Las Vegas Nevada for as long as I can remember. While he's never been to Nevada or anywhere out west, he just knew that would be the school for him.

He's decided that he wants to follow in my footsteps and go to college for journalism, specifically sports journalism, which UNLV has as an option. He also has an interest in Arizona State University in Phoenix because they have the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, so that was our second stop on this trip.

Now I should add, I went to high school in Las Vegas and moved to Phoenix at the age of 19. I was there for a few years before moving back to the east coast. So, this was far from my first time in Vegas or Phoenix, but it was my son's first time anywhere off the east coast.

We first went to Vegas for a few days. And yes, we went in the dead heat of summer during a literal heatwave. As far as time was concerned, it was the only time frame that worked with both our schedules, and I figured if he wants to move out here, he's going to have to get used to the heat, so why not just throw him right into the fire, so to speak?

We set up our tour at UNLV months prior, so we had it all planned out as far as when and where we had to be. UNLV's campus is pretty large, and we were walking all over in the 110-plus degree heat, but it wasn't as bad as it might sound to someone who's never been there. The campus is beautiful, and we got to go inside many of the buildings during our tour. But first, we had a half-an-hour presentation that was filled with all the important information - cost, housing, requirements to be accepted, how many students attend, meals, parking, etc.

One thing to keep in mind when going on these college visits is to ask anything and everything that comes to mind because sometimes it's not easy to get answers from home. And having one-on-one attention to get the answers you need is super helpful, especially when you're visiting multiple colleges. Taking notes is another great tip because they throw so much great information at you in a short period of time and it's super easy to forget the smaller details.

My son LOVED UNLV. I knew he would. The vibe, the campus, the people we met, the proximity to the Strip and tons of job opportunities, the internship possibilities, everything. There wasn't a single thing that he wasn't happy with. I knew that it would be difficult to top this experience because his mind was sort of already made up, but next up was Phoenix.

After touring UNLV, we stayed in Vegas for one more day to enjoy as much of the Strip as we could in the three-digit temps. Then it was off to Phoenix to tour ASU.

UNLV and ASU are two very different campuses. The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism is part of the downtown Phoenix campus. The buildings aren't on a private campus like UNLV is and it's more like true city living.

After the presentation was over, it was time to tour the buildings that make up the downtown campus. It wasn't long before my son told me that he's not quite feeling this college as much as UNLV. The bar was set high because as I said, he's dreamed of going to UNLV for many years. While he did like ASU and it could be a great option, he just felt more at home at UNLV.

I might add, it was nearly 120 degrees while we were in Phoenix, and while I thought that would be a slight deterrent for my son, he didn't seem too bothered by the dry heat.

As promised, here are the tips that I picked up along the way to make things a bit easier.

Know exactly what your child is looking for in a school. Is it strictly academics or are there other factors that go into a final decision on where to apply? For my son, he wants to go to school for journalism, but would also like to play basketball. And since he's interested in sports journalism specifically, being in a place where there are lots of sports teams accessible is important. Vegas has an NFL team, NHL team, and WNBA team, is about to get a baseball team and NBA team, plus there are often big events in the city such as boxing and UFC fights.

Will your child live on campus or off campus? It's important to have an idea of housing before starting your search. Some colleges require freshman to live on campus, but that can get costly, so knowing what's required and what options there are can help you decide if a school is even an option. If your child will be living on campus, it's important to understand the meal plans available. That can also get costly. Plus, if they plan to live on campus, will your child be bringing a car? Some campuses don't let freshman have a car on campus, and campus parking can be quite expensive, so weighing your options ahead of your tour can help you to decide what questions you need to ask.

Learn what the requirements are to be accepted before senior year begins. If it's possible even sooner than that, that's ideal. Some schools require two years of a foreign language and others don't. You don't want to find that out when it's too late to take a class you don't already have. Another requirement that differs from college to college is the need to take the SATs and the score required to be admitted. We learned that for both ASU and UNLV, if you have certain requirements, you don't need to take the SATs, and there are ways around it.

If your child is moving away from their home state and you won't be, be prepared for a higher tuition rate for out-of-state students. But if you are planning to move to whatever area your child will be going to (I'm taking this opportunity to move out of a state I'm ready to move out of, so wherever my son decides to go to school, I'll be setting up residency ahead of time so we can take advantage of in-state tuition rates.)

Another thing to ask about during the tour is the options of scholarships, grants and any other freebie money that's out there. At UNLV, we were informed about so many different great options to bring the cost down. Things I wouldn't have known to ask, so it was such a welcomed bit of information.

There are so many things to take into consideration when choosing a college and being one step ahead of the game is helpful for so many reasons, including your sanity. I'm learning as I go, so if you have any other tips, please feel free to email me!