The Family Guide to College Visits

The Family Guide to

COLLEGE VISITS A practical guide to removing the stress and fear from the college search process

SCHEDULING A COLLEGE TOUR SEEMS SO SIMPLE… You visit a website and select your dates.

You make the hotel reservation, take the journey and prepare a few questions. The rest will come to you as you’re exploring the campus, right?

Then, it happens.

After circling the parking lot in search of an empty space almost a mile from campus, you’re shuffled away with a college tour guide and dozens of other prospective students and parents like yourselves.

You’re herded from here to there on foot faster than you can stop and smell the cafeteria.

Parents fight for the opportunity to ask questions over each other.

Prospective students are too busy checking out their phone screens, and then, it’s over.

Did you get to ask that question that was so important? You can’t remember. You’re exhausted and relieved to see your hotel room.

On the next tour, the process repeats itself.

There are incredible ways you can maximize your tour experience at every college campus. High Point University knows. We not only provide a much better tour experience than the one described on the previous page, but we’ve also been thanked by many families for offering a personalized tour option that they didn’t find on other campuses.

You’re about to make one of the biggest investments of your family’s life. Right now, the best thing you can do is know which questions to ask during the tour – questions no one could possibly know to ask until they’ve already toured dozens of campuses.

This guide breaks down the questions for both students and parents, so take it with you! By asking these questions, you’ll get the answers your family needs while also being the most prepared and knowledgeable people on the tour.

We wish we could be there to watch you shine!

P.S. If you want to experience the best university tour, schedule your personalized High Point University campus visit at www.highpoint.edu/visit.

START HERE

THAT EXPERIENCE IS COMMON AMONG THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES VISITING THOUSANDS OF COLLEGES EACH YEAR, AND IT’S PRECISELY WHY WE DEVELOPED THIS GUIDE. TAKE IT WITH YOU TO CALM THE CHAOS OF ANY COLLEGE TOUR AND REVEAL THE SECRET QUESTIONS YOU DIDN’T KNOW TO ASK.

CAMPUS EXPERIENCE The college experience isn’t limited to the classroom. In fact, there are 168 hours in a week, and students will be in class approximately 20 of those hours. What will the other 148 consist of? For four years, students are choosing one campus to call home. What will it be like living independently for the first time? What resources are available to make new surroundings comfortable? Here are important questions you should ask to uncover the type of environment each school offers:

Q WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR CAMPUS SECURITY? What security measures or features does your campus provide? Pro-tip: Ask about building access and take note of Blue Light Care Point stations. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

Q WHAT KIND OF FREE CONCERTS, GUEST SPEAKERS AND ACTIVITIES

do students experience on your campus?

______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q DO YOU HAVE ONLY ONE MASSIVE RECREATION CENTER for students or several options from which students can choose? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q WILL YOU BE PROVIDING MY FAMILY WITH A COMPLIMENTARY MEAL on campus during this tour so we can experience your dining options? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q

Do you charge for parking, graduation, printing fees or Family Weekends?

WHAT ARE THE HIDDEN COSTS associated with attending this college? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

HPU’s answers to your questions:

A Our well-lit campus is recognized nationally by Security Magazine.

Magazine. It includes the 24/7 presence of friendly, trained security officers and Student Life staff. Sixty Blue Light Care Point stations and the LiveSafe App allow students to quickly connect with security. Residence halls and academic buildings are accessed by keycard only. And the list goes on.

A HPU has state-of-the-art facilities with incredible spaces, including two large student centers, several satellite libraries and fitness centers, expansive gardens and outdoor areas, intramural fields, an arcade, a cinema, two Starbucks locations and a total of 15 dining options throughout campus.

A Yes! You won’t have to worry about getting hungry because

you will enjoy a complimentary meal at HPU, one of the nation’s best campus dining experiences.

A No hidden costs! HPU’s comprehensive fee includes everything. There are no unexpected costs for services like the use of laundry machines, printing, parking or tickets to events, because at HPU, they’re free.

CAMPUS EXPERIENCE

A Every semester, HPU students enjoy free concerts from chart-topping artists such as Calvin Harris, J. Cole, Daya, Andy Grammer, Hunter Hayes, B.o.B., Cheat Codes and more. Bestselling authors such as Malcolm Gladwell and Mitch Albom, as well as global leaders such as Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, regularly visit campus for engaging discussions. And with 100 clubs and organizations, there’s always an energetic event to enjoy at HPU.

VALUES-BASED LIVING AND LEARNING After 18 years at home, students bring a set of established values to college. Isn’t it important for students to attend a school that honors and reinforces their family’s values? Here are questions to help you make that determination during your visits:

Q HOW DOES THIS CAMPUS CELEBRATE PATRIOTISM and the sacrifice of our veterans? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q How does your campus promote THE PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q

Does your UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT TEACH A CLASS for first-year students?

______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q WHICH STAFF MEMBERS ARE DEDICATED to helping students during their freshman year transition to college and beyond? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q

Does your campus have a FULL-TIME MEDICAL DOCTOR AND

FACILITIES to accommodate unexpected health events like pandemics? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

HPU’s answers to your questions:

A HPU is a God, family and country school that honors veterans and the freedoms they have secured for our great nation. Our annual Veterans Day Celebration welcomes 1,000 local veterans, and students learn from renowned veterans like Gen. Colin Powell, former Secretary of State. Our campus proudly flies the flag and displays patriotic colors and sculptures across campus.

A HPU celebrates the principles on which America was founded, including personal initiative, an entrepreneurial mindset and free enterprise.

Students learn from business leaders and have the opportunity to develop their own business ventures. Employers visit campus frequently, showing students the type of hard-working, values-driven employees they need.

A HPU provides every freshman a Success Coach, a professional

staff member whose sole responsibility is to guide students in their transition to college and connect them with other campus resources like Career and Professional Development. From their professors, to their career advisor, to their peer mentor — an upperclassman who mentors new students — students are supported in numerous ways at HPU.

A Yes! A full-time doctor leads HPU’s Student Health Services along with a staff of physician assistants, nurse practitioners and more. Students have access to quality care on our campus. HPU’s new, 6,500-square-foot student health facility provides a separate entrance for students with respiratory symptoms. And, in the case of a global pandemic like COVID-19, the university also has plans to relocate any student at risk of having the virus to a comfortable, quarantine environment.

VALUES-BASED LIVING AND LEARNING

A Yes! HPU President Nido Qubein teaches the President’s Seminar on Life Skills for all freshmen. The class focuses on important premier life skills topics, such as fiscal literacy, relational capital, public speaking and how to embrace change. He is also a constant presence on campus, frequently stopping to talk to students on the International Promenade or in the Slane Café.

REAL-LIFE PREPARATION We live in a world that demands more than the technical skills a degree provides. A student’s college education shouldn’t merely focus on the attainment of a diploma, but the process of earning that diploma should ensure a successful future. Time on a college campus should supply students with the life skills and career readiness employers are looking for. Here are questions you should ask regarding a college’s career preparation programs:

Q AT WHAT MAJOR COMPANIES do your students get internships and jobs? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q WHAT IS YOUR SIX-MONTH PLACEMENT RATE FOR GRADUATES? Pro-tip: Six months after graduation is the national standard by which schools should report. If they give you a rate based on longer than six months, ask them why. If it’s not easily available or seen, ask yourself “why?” ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q WHAT TUITION-FREE MASTER’S PROGRAM do you offer that directly enhances life skills? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q

Where are your COMPLIMENTARY LINKEDIN HEAD SHOTS taken on campus?

______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q Outside of classwork, where on this campus are LIFE SKILLS, such as professional etiquette, taught to freshmen? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

HPU’s answers to your questions:

A HPU students and graduates power some of the world’s top-tier

companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, the NBA, Apple and the Smithsonian, just to name a few. They intern on Capitol Hill, with the MLB or with Big Four investment firms. You can see where HPU takes students by visiting www.highpoint.edu/outcomes.

A 97% of HPU students are employed or continuing their education within six months of graduation! That’s 11 points higher than the national average. HPU’s Office of Career and Professional Development works closely with students to determine their career goals and make them a reality with resume support, mock interviews, bringing employers to campus and more.

A In an innovative approach to education, HPU offers undergraduate students the opportunity to obtain a tuition-free master’s degree in communication and business leadership.

This master’s degree is relevant to all majors and beneficial to all career paths, further equipping students with the leadership and life skills necessary to thrive in the global, ever-competitive marketplace. On top of that, graduate degree recipients earn, on average, $17,000 more per year than undergraduate degree recipients, and these benefits are underscored by the fact that 100% of HPU’s advanced degree holders are employed within six months of graduating.

A HPU’s campus is a 500-acre classroom. As one example, students receive four years of career preparation inside 1924 Prime, HPU’s fine dining restaurant and learning laboratory. Here, they practice their interview skills weekly over complimentary dinner and are exposed to a wide variety of cuisines. Beyond that, campus buildings resemble the features of a Fortune 500 company and unique study spaces mimic real-world interaction, like the interior of an airplane, allowing students to practice social interactions that will be necessary as they enter the workforce.

REAL-LIFE PREPARATION

A At least once a month, HPU students can secure their complimentary professional headshot on campus! Different locations with different backdrops are utilized to give students options.

ACADEMIC INNOVATION Life beyond college graduation includes a fast-paced workforce that’s ever-evolving.

To best serve students, universities must also evolve by continually adapting curriculum, faculty, programming, technology and facilities so students are prepared for the world not as it is, but as it is going to be. Here are questions that will help you assess if various colleges have innovated their campuses with student advancement in mind:

Q

In addition to your faculty, WHAT INNOVATORS AND GLOBAL LEADERS visit campus to mentor students? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO MAJOR IN. Do you have a program or specific advisers that will guide me? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q

What EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING opportunities do you offer?

______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q WHAT ARE CLASS SIZES LIKE? Pro-tip: Don’t be fooled by faculty/student ratios. Some faculty don’t teach classes but are counted in this equation. Ask instead for the average undergraduate class size (number of students physically in a class), and ask to see the largest classrooms on campus! ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Q CAN STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH EVEN AS FRESHMEN? If yes, what program matches them with faculty mentors? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

HPU’s answers to your questions:

A HPU attracts thought leaders, innovators and change agents to campus. Students meet them, work with them and discover the art of the possible. These leaders include Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence; Netflix Co-founder and first CEO Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence; Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, HPU’s Sports Executive in Residence; and ABC News’ “Nightline” Anchor Byron Pitts, HPU’s Journalist in Residence.

A

This is common! Nearly half of all college students nationally change their major and many enter college not knowing what they want to major in. At High Point University, we partner with students to help them discover an academic pursuit they are passionate about. We call this process Project Discovery. Guided by a personal Success Coach, this program includes classes, self-assessments, meetings with professors and upperclassmen with similar interests, and more! Learn more at www.highpoint.edu/ProjectDiscovery.

A As the Premier Life Skills University, HPU provides holistic learning programs that take students outside the classroom and into real-world scenarios, including the Survey Research Center, where students develop, conduct, analyze and publish statewide poll data; the Entrepreneurship Center, where students pitch their latest business model; Service Learning programs that allow students to work for organizations off campus while earning class credit; and much more.

A

The average class size at HPU is 17 students. Classes are also led entirely by faculty as opposed to graduate teaching assistants. This allows more opportunity for mentorship between faculty and students.

ACADEMIC INNOVATION

A Unlike other universities, students at HPU don’t have to wait until they’re upperclassmen to begin research. Research Rookies is a special program that incorporates freshmen into the university’s culture of scholarly research and matches them with a facultyled research project. No matter a student’s major, getting involved in research or creative works helps students build unique credentials like critical thinking, communication and problem solving that distinguish them from the 2 million other students they will graduate among and compete with for jobs or entrance into graduate and professional schools!

CAMPUS VISIT CHECKLIST:

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Take notes and photos of the campus as you go. You think you’ll remember the details when it comes time to compare, but you’ll be shocked by how much you want to see the campus again. Photos are your friend!

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Pose for a photo with your personalized campus parking space! It will always serve as a memory for when you first visited your university home.

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Exchange information with your tour guide and personal admissions counselor for follow-up questions.

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Visit the campus bookstore to see how the school’s spirit suits you.

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Grab a meal! Four years on a college campus means four years of eating on that campus. You want to make sure you love the food.

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Make sure you see a freshman dorm room. After all, this will be your new home!