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campus tours are a great opportunity to ask questions. Campus tour guides love them because they can help fill those moments where there just isn't much to say, and students and parents can get the answers they want to hear.

However, with such a short time together, you need to make your questions count. Take some time before the campus tour to do a little research; the answers to many of your questions are available online or in college brochures. So if you are planning what to ask ahead of time, be sure to scratch off these, the top 10 questions not to ask your campus tour guide.

10.) Is college fun? -- "If you do the research and pick the right school, college will be the best four years of your life," says Bill Koellhoffer, a Penn State (State College, PA) campus tour guide. "That's why you need to see the schools to make an informed decision."

9.) Does your school have this major? -- A lot of schools have majors that aren't exactly mainstream. (For example, Penn State offers turfgrass science and electro-mechanical engineering technology.) Tour guides won't know every single major offered, especially at bigger schools. This is something good to know before visiting a school and can be found in brochures or on the admissions section of Web sites; if you know you want to major in something and a school doesn't offer it, why consider the school?

8.) When is the curfew for the residence halls? -- Aileen Hentz, former student volunteer coordinator at Penn State, has heard this one a few times. She says she's never heard of a school with a residence hall curfew, and most tour guides would agree with her.

7.) Can I get a single? -- Roommates are often a source of stress leading into college, and many think a single room is the answer. "Tour guides often work for Admissions," says Jessica Jennings, former tour coordinator at Penn State. "Your tour guide is not going to be able to tell you how to get (a single) and often won't know themselves."

6.) Who can I call to get updates about my child? Can I get a copy of my child's grades? -- "Residence assistants, professors and advisors are not there for parental updates," Jessica says. "And legally, universities are not allowed to send (grades) to parents."

5.) Do I have to go to class? -- Theoretically, no, you do not have to go to class. Realistically, you do not have to pass either. And if you divide your tuition by the number of classes you have scheduled in a semester, skipping class is the same as throwing money away.

4.) Can I get a roommate of the opposite sex in the residence halls? -- Not at Penn State and many other schools, but there are always exceptions (for instance, NYU). Might be worth a shot.

3.) Is there Drinking in college? -- "This is the most naive question anyone can ask," Bill says. "Alcohol will be around, but it's up to the student to make the right decision." Jessica adds: "Any tour guide who tells you (there is no drinking in college) is lying."

2.) Any question starting with, "My child is..." -- "Generally, the fill-in-the-blank part is something students have no interest in doing when they get to college," Jessica says. "If the student is really interested in it, he or she needs to be the one to ask it."

1.) Is college hard? --"The obvious answer to that is, 'Yes, college is work,'" Bill says. "I don't think students realize the amount of responsibility that falls on them in college. Mom is not there to make sure you get up for class. Mom is not there to make sure you study when you need to. Mom is not there to make you stay in on a weeknight."

Good things to remember to ask about on your campus tour: safety, academic support opportunities (i.e., tutors), extracurricular activities, general campus climate, the tour guides' favorite and least favorite parts about the school, and anything else that you are interested in.


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Amanda Fornecker is a staff writer at The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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