St. Stephen's Director of College Counseling Maj Dergham has visited more than 70 college campuses. He shares his experiences and insights for students on parents on how to make the most of college visits.

I love visiting college campuses. It is one of the dorkiest things about being a college counselor that brings me so much joy. While there are now many ways to learn about a college or university, their academic, athletic, and extracurricular offerings, including a virtual tour of their campus, nothing can compare to physically visiting a campus, seeing what it looks like in person, eating in the dining hall, talking to the people who call it home, and getting a sense of the overall vibe.

I have a very hard time not loving at least something about every campus I visit. Whether it’s the quintessential college-town feeling of CU Boulder, the amazing laboratories and engineering facilities at Purdue University, the impressive broadcast studios at Elon University, the co-op program and urban layout of Drexel University, or the beautiful lake at the center of the University of Richmond, every college has something special to offer to the right student. 

On my most recent college tour in Ireland, I was lucky enough to see some truly special campuses, including The University of Limerick, University of Galway, University College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast, and Ulster University. While these schools might not frequently be found on a St. Stephen’s student’s college list, it was a great reminder for me that as an educator and a college counselor, part of my role is to help students think beyond the usual and outside of the box. For the adventurous intellectual, these schools and many others outside of the U.S. offer a unique and exciting array of opportunities. 

Part of my overall joy comes from nostalgia and having worked on a college campus for many years – there’s just an unmatched energy that is hard to recreate anywhere else. Part of it is selfish, as it allows me to see different places I may have not had the opportunity to visit before. However, the aspect of visiting colleges that brings me the most excitement and fulfillment is learning what the different campuses have to offer the students with whom I work.

We know that some students will have the opportunity to visit at least a few of the campuses they are considering. However, many students might not have the ability to get to every college to which they might apply, or perhaps any at all. As college counselors, it is a great luxury we are afforded to travel to these many places and help bridge the gap for those students who cannot visit on their own and relay the information we have gathered. So don’t be afraid to ask your counselor if they have been to a particular college – odds are one of us has already visited!

Many people often ask us, “What should we do or pay attention to when visiting a campus?” For many of our upper school families utilizing part of their spring and summer breaks to make some visits, here are a few things to consider:

• If you’re traveling on vacation and there’s a campus close by, swing by and take a walk around
• Try to attend an information session and a campus tour – that’s a standard visit, so anything more is icing on the cake
• Leave some time to walk around the surrounding city/town
• Talk to students who are not tour guides or working for the admissions office
• Eat in the dining hall or try a local mom-and-pop eatery just off campus
• Students – make sure you’re the one checking in with the admissions office when you arrive and asking the questions. Your parent won’t be the one attending the college, but you will!
• Parents – Let your student check in when you arrive (see above!)
• Read the school newspaper if they have any lying around the student center
• Ask lots of questions
• Take pictures and notes and organize them so you can have something to refer to when you get home (and so you can share your thoughts with your counselor when the time comes)

Having visited many college campuses over my career (I tried to count, and I think I’m somewhere in the 70s or 80s), I still get excited thinking about the places I have yet to visit and hope to see one day. For our students just starting the process and looking to visit their first campus, or our seniors who might be visiting the colleges where they’ve been admitted in the next few months: please enjoy, and safe travels!