College Blog
You might be wondering, “what does grade inflation have to do with AP exams?” […] In a world where average GPAs have steadily climbed to rest in the high A- territory (~3.7), colleges see AP exam scores as providing more context and nuance. This is doubly true if your student does not submit an SAT score (or applies to a school that does not accept SAT scores, like the UCs).
When you visit a college, there is so much more to do than just show up for your tour and walk around the campus. In order to make the most of a visit that frequently involves a hotel stay and a plane flight, it’s critical that your student do the legwork before the tour in order to make the most of the half-day you will spend on campus.
Make sure that you know the basic statistics, or have the research easily accessible on a phone or in a notebook, so that you don’t ask those questions during your time on campus. Keep your attention on the higher-value questions that you can’t get answers to on the website.
Visiting campuses is one of the best ways to get a glimpse at the school, the student body, the environment outside campus; to feel the “vibe” and get a sense for what it might be like to live there. There are definitely some pitfalls to avoid, and some definite must-dos to prepare for every college visit to ensure that you get the most out of the few hours you’ll spend there.
So the key here is to stay in touch with admissions while still following directions. Try not to be a bother, and don’t give admissions more than they are asking for; that can lead to giving your application reader a negative impression, which is counterproductive to our goal of getting admitted. We want to reiterate our interest in the school and update them on our more recent achievements while not seeming cloying or desperate to get in.
