When you visit the Admissions Office (Part 2 of 3)

College visits are arranged though an Admissions Office. Call or email this office, and get the name of the admissions counselor you talk to. This is your contact person going forward.

Ask if you will receive printed information before your visit. Let the counselor know that you want to visit several offices (see below), and ask the counselor to set up appointments for you with these offices. While many college admissions counselors try to answer all the questions students and parents have, insist on speaking to people in particular offices because their special knowledge of certain areas will make you better informed. Plus, it’s always helpful to have the names of individual college officials to contact when questions occur to you after your visit.

Confirm your visit with this counselor by email.

During your college visits, you should ask a lot of questions.

Standardized tests require systematic preparation, not a casual attitude

Standardized tests are just a fact of educational life. And it’s a real alphabet stew: SATs, ACTs, APs, IBs, LSATs, MCATs, DATs, GMATs, GREs.

Students get their first taste of bubbling answers with number-two pencils in second grade. Such tests continue through elementary and middle school to rank students and mark their academic progress.

In high school, however, standardized tests take on a new meaning: They become qualifying tools used by colleges to admit or reject students.