The campus visit is by far the most important step in the process. It brings the viewbook and web pages to life. You are visiting the place you may call home for the next 4 years and you should do so with  very critical, consumer eyes. The environment you experience on a college campus will be one of the 1^st means by which to narrow your list. You will have good visits and mediocre visits. Mediocre visits are just as important for they tell you something about your expectations that have not been met and help you to sense what is important in the list of attributes you have developed. Develop critical visiting skills close to home by visiting schools in your area before spending money on a major trip.

Once you have some dates in mind for your visits, call the admission office and see what time tours and interviews are offered on that day. Generally, 2 weeks advance noticed is preferred. You should tour no more than 2 schools per day and allow at least 4 hours on a college campus. Admission Office personnel can assist with travel time concerns if you are visiting schools in the surrounding area. The ideal situation is to stay overnight on campus but not all universities offer this option.

The admission interview and its influence on your application and the decision will vary from each university. Some schools do not offer interviews at all and much of the information they dispense is in group settings. Other schools (generally the much smaller ones) do offer interviews. You are encouraged to have an interview at any school that will grant you one. When you call to set up this appointment, state that you are from the southern CA region and would like to interview with the admission officer that handles that area. Meeting an admission officer who may ultimately review and decide upon your application is to your advantage even if the school states that the interview is not used to assist in the admission decision. Putting your face and pleasant personality with your application brings your pages to life when they are reviewed. Do not count a school out that will not grant you an interview. Many colleges just can not handle the volume of requests they have for interviews so, to be fair, they do not grant them to anyone.

When you are granted an interview, it is likely that you will be invited to speak to the admission counselor 1 on 1, without your parents. Your parents will be invited in later so they can have their questions answered. Tips for the interview:

Ø      Be on time.

Ø      Dress appropriately -- no baseball caps, shirttails in, no torn clothing.

Ø      Act appropriately -- no chewing gum, shake the interviewer's hand, look him/her in the eye, sit up straight.

Ø      Know yourself -- know what classes you took in all years of high school, grades, honors/AP courses, extra-curriculars, your strengths and weaknesses.

Ø      Ask questions -- saying you don't have any questions leads the interviewer to think that you are not really interested (they never believe that you don't have questions because you know everything about their school).

Ø      Be polite -- thank the interviewer for his/her time and send follow up thank you note when you return home.

Ø      Be prepared to discuss "hiccups" -- know what you will say to discuss any inconsistencies in your academic record. If you had a bad semester due to an illness, death in the family or other extenuating circumstances, be prepared to discuss it candidly. Bring it up if you really feel it affected you academically.

Ø      Discuss learning differences -- do not shy away from discussing your learning needs. Better to learn now if the campus can accommodate you rather than when you arrive as a freshman.

Ø      Get a business card from the interviewer -- you should be in contact with this person throughout the process.