new oscott college tours

Tour of St Mary’s College, Oscott

St Mary’s College is a residential training college for young men who have entered into the vocation of training to be part of the Catholic Priesthood. It has been at its present location since 1838 and was decorated by the eminent Victorian architect, Augustus Welby Pugin. As a residential facility, the College is private property and only open to the public at limited times throughout the year.

The tour will take visitors around the public areas of the college, including the chapel, museum and library. 

Car parking is available at the front of the college, if using satnav please use postcode B73 5BB to come to the main gates on Chester Road. There are a number of bus stops located near to the college on College Road and Chester Road and Chester Road train station is 30 minutes’ walk from the college grounds. 

No refreshments at St Mary’s College, but there are numerous café’s and eateries located nearby. Organised by St Mary’s College, Oscott

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St Mary’s College, Oscott, from which the district of New Oscott takes its name, was first established in 1791 at Old Oscott which is now in the modern district of Kingstanding.

The passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Act allowed Catholics to set up their own schools. Consquently, a number of Staffordshire gentry sponsored a boys’ school at (Old ) Oscott House together with a seminary or training college for priests. At the time this was a completely rural area. Just three men became students at the first Catholic seminary to be founded in England since the Reformation.

In 1803 Bishop John Milner, Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, began to increase the number of seminarians and extend the building. With 150 boys at the school and 20 priests, accommodation was becoming a problem and the decision was made in 1827 to build a new ‘Oscott’ college.

An equally rural site was chosen at Holdford Farm alongside the Chester Road some two miles east of Old Oscott. A generous donor to the project was the wealthy Earl of Shrewsbury. Known as ‘Good Earl John’, he funded many Catholic chapels and other sites in the Midlands, including Birmingham’s St Chad’s Cathedral.

Oscott College

Designed in a Tudor style by Joseph Potter of Lichfield, the new college building was opened in less than three years, the name, Oscott being transferred to the new site which then became known as New Oscott, with the original site becoming Old Oscott.

St Mary’s College at New Oscott became the central seminary for the Midlands Catholic dioceses and an important national centre of Catholicism. In 1852, the first Synod of Westminster of the re-established Catholic hierarchy took place here with John Henry Newman preaching a sermon entitled ‘The Second Spring’.

Oscott College is built of red brick with stone dressings and designed in the style of an Oxford college with a central tower, quadrangles and cloisters. No sooner was the building finished than the Earl of Shrewsbury called in the architect, A W N Pugin to furnish and decorate the interior. Pugin, a convert to Roman Catholicism, was a prime mover in bringing medieval Gothic back into English religion and had worked with the Earl on other Catholic projects. He completely refurbished the chapel in rich colour and used a number of medieval artefacts brought from the Netherlands when he had toured there with Shrewsbury. Pugin’s precise and detailed work included the pulpit and choir stalls, the reredos and even the candlesticks. Much of the stained glass is by the noted Birmingham firm of Hardman’s.

The Weedall Chantry with its four side chapels was added by Pugin’s eldest son, as was Northcote Hall lecture theatre completed in 1881 by his youngest son, Peter Paul Pugin.

St Mary’s New Oscott, a relatively unknown but remarkable building, also has treasures within it. The museum set up by Pugin, while he was Professor of Ecclesiastical Art and Architecture here, has fine examples of religious art from the 15 th to the 17 th century. The library, on whose walls hang 260 paintings given by the Earl of Shrewsbury, has a collection of 30,000 books including early printed books.

The chapel is open regularly to the public for church services and there is a programme of guided visits to the College.

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Public Tours at St Mary’s College, Oscott

Visitors can attend the tours, which take place on Wednesdays during the academic year from January to June 2019.

The tours cost £10 per adult, which i ncludes a cup of tea and a slice (or two) of home baked cake. Please arrive at 12:30 for a 1:00 start. Tours last approximately two hours.  Payment is required in advance. For available dates and further information, call Margaret Wilson on  0121 321 5026.

St Mary’s College is a residential training college for young men who have entered into the vocation of training to be part of the Catholic Priesthood. It has been at its present location since 1838 and was decorated by the eminent Victorian architect, Augustus Welby Pugin.

To find out more, visit the college’s website:  www.oscott.net .

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Oscott Colleges (old Oscott And New Oscott)

• Thread starter Vivienne14
• Start date Feb 24, 2012

Pheasey Born Bumper

• Feb 26, 2012

Vivienne14 said: Thanks Topsy. This must be referring to New Oscott College. Looking at Google, there's a College Farm Drive nearby, so assume College Farm was somewhere there, close to the college and trees. You can see the burial grounds at the bottom of the photo. The burial ground on Lyn's map showing Old Oscott still remains a mystery then. David, how interesting. Can people visit New Oscott or is it closed to the general public? Viv. View attachment 74299 Click to expand...

Gone but not forgotten R.I.P.

I would imagine it is open to the public, here is the entrance, it is off Court Lane. Terry  

Attachments

terryb18 said: I would imagine it is open to the public, here is the entrance, it is off Court Lane. Terry Click to expand...

Kentish Brummie Moderator

Thanks for the photos Terry and David. When the New College was built it was on top of a hill, surrounded by trees, like an island. So yes David, it must have (or at least once had) a very good view. I don't think there was much else around it, pretty well open, heathland. The members of Old Oscott settled into the New College in 1838, the college being consecrated by a 7 hour ceremony! The Old Oscott College at this point became a prep school, retaining its close links with the New College. The move to the New College was because they'd outgrown Old Oscott, but not too long after the transfer they received a lot of donated artifacts, which they found quickly filled up the additional space created by the move. Viv.  

Key Hill Brian

Proud brummie.

The Pics of New Oscott College on Chester Road are very good. They recently had an open day as part of the PUgin anniversary year, and I was fortunate to get in! It is now one of only 3 catholic training Colleges for Priests in England & wales - the other 2 are in the South. Although a capacity for about 70 trainees, aonly about 53 at present. Staff is about 30. Course is 6 years long! The Catholic Cemetey is open during normal cemetey hours, and is accessed off Court lane, via a cul de sac with new housing. I only became aware of the cemetery some years ago when my cousin was buried there. I now of others who have their plots reserved - Purely R.C. It is nicely kept and has a fantastic view of Birmingham, but is fenced off from the Training college usually. The Old Oscott cemetery at the oldOrphanage sounds intriguing - I've heard of Maryvale but never visited - Time for a ride out! Brian  

Boys' Brigade Brummie

Have you all seen the picture posted on the Various street pictures thread #137. New Oscott College on the horizon.  

I did wonder Rob but couldn't work it out! The times I've been to Perry Common library and never even noticed it. Thanks for that. Viv.  

TRUE BRUMMIE MODERATOR

ive only just twigged that it must be st marys college oscot that i can just see from from bedroom window..will have a better look in the morning...  

• Feb 27, 2012

Key Hill Brian said: The Pics of New Oscott College on Chester Road are very good. They recently had an open day as part of the PUgin anniversary year, and I was fortunate to get in! It is now one of only 3 catholic training Colleges for Priests in England & wales - the other 2 are in the South. Although a capacity for about 70 trainees, aonly about 53 at present. Staff is about 30. Course is 6 years long! The Catholic Cemetey is open during normal cemetey hours, and is accessed off Court lane, via a cul de sac with new housing. I only became aware of the cemetery some years ago when my cousin was buried there. I now of others who have their plots reserved - Purely R.C. It is nicely kept and has a fantastic view of Birmingham, but is fenced off from the Training college usually. The Old Oscott cemetery at the oldOrphanage sounds intriguing - I've heard of Maryvale but never visited - Time for a ride out! Brian Click to expand...

hi viv...i am inclined to agree with you as it does not look like the ground has been built on...i see a gateway for pedestrians so i think i may try and take a look tomorrow...shall i go armed with me metal detector lol..  

That would be great Lyn if you get time. You might want to take ropes and crampons too, it's hilly round there! Now any treasure is shared, right?! Viv.  

lol viv....that walkway looks scary to me just right for a buriel ground..wouldnt it be great if there was some sort of plaque to say that it was just that....doubt if we will that lucky though...hopefully i will get there tomorrow armed with camera and me spy tactics...lol  

school lane on my map viv is obviously what is now oscott school lane...very confusing around there as we have old oscott hill..oscott school lane and old oscott lane...the mind boggles lol anyhow i would like to get there tomorrow but if not it will be this week for sure..  

master brummie

If I can refer back to my previous posts regarding the missing burial ground, I think its possible, from the position of the ground on the map, that the college could well have been built upon it. if so then would'nt they have erected a memorial to record it. which brings me back to my previous thoughts, to the left of the college, by the clump of trees is a light coloured square. If you zoom into this with google maps you can see the shadow of a cross on the structure in the centre. This is only accessible from within the college grounds itself. A better view is obtained using Bing Maps Birdseye view. Keep looking Goffy  

hi geoffy when i go to take a look i think i will try and make some enquires... lyn  

Lyn, If you go down Old Oscott Hill the turning is to the right. It's between Maryvale Institute and Maryvale Primary School - don't go as far as Oscott School Lane. The turning to the house and burial ground is also caled Old Oscott Hill on Google. Even more confusingly there's a turning by Our Lady of the Assumption Church near Cardinal Wiseman College, also called Old Oscott Hill. So just make sure you take the turning further down the hill by the primary school and Institute. No wonder nobody knows about it! See what you mean now Goffy, I can see the memorial is almost next to Cardinal Wiseman College on Google, off to the left behind the church. I feel it's more than likely a burial ground connected to the Old College/school/orphanage or hospital marked on Lyn's map.Viv  

yes viv i know where it is now...i wonder what this memorial is then next to card wiseman...i think that needs investingating as well...i always thought that buriel ground could not be built upon but i guess it has happened in some cases...dont worry we shall sort it it...everyone else can be the brains and i will do the leg work just point me in a direction lol..  

Hard to tell Lyn, but you might be able to get to the memorial from alongside the church by Cardinal Wiseman's. Might be worth a try. Viv  

There is an entrance to that, what we think might be a memorial, but its from cardinal wiseman college grounds, and that is behind a gated entrance, but there may be another way in to the opposite corner from the wooded area can't quite tell from the ariel views best of luck goffy  

thanks geoffy and viv..i will take a sat nav with me lol..  

• Feb 28, 2012

Astoness said: thanks geoffy and viv..i will take a sat nav with me lol.. Click to expand...

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Oscott, Old Oscott, Oscott Hill

B44 - grid reference sp071946, b73 - grid reference sp098940, oscote: first record 13th century.

Oscott was first recorded as Oscote from Old English Osa's cot which simply means 'Osa's cottage'. The hamlet of Oscott stood in the valley of Oscott Brook at the junction of Old Oscott Lane and Old Oscott Hill. It lay in the north-eastern corner of the Perry Barr division of the ancient parish of Handsworth.

A Roman Catholic mission was set up on the slopes of Oscott Hill in the 17th century probably as a result of the Declaration of Indulgence enacted by James II in 1687. However, after the pro-Stuart uprisings of 1715 and 1745, a series of Penal Laws were passed to counter the threat of Roman Catholic subversion. It was not until the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 that Roman Catholics were largely emancipated. Following this, in 1837 a new 'Oscott' college was built near the junction of College Road and the Chester Road. Thus Oscott became known as Old Oscott to distinguish it from the New Oscott. The Old Oscott mission was dedicated to St Mary, the name, Maryvale being coined after 1846 by John Henry Newman when his Oratorian community moved here.

The Act of Toleration of 1689 allowed Christians other than Anglicans to openly profess their faith. A Roman Catholic Mission to the Midlands was set up by Father Andrew Bromwich on Old Oscott Hill. One of a family of wealthy landowners in the district, he bequeathed his home, Oscott House to pay for a Roman Catholic priest in the area.

At the instigation of Bishop Thomas Hornyhold thie house.s was rebuilt in 1752 as St Mary's Institute , a plain three-storey brick building in Georgian style which still survives and is Grade II* Listed. In 1758 a new chapel was built in neo-classical style; the stone colonnade dates from 1816.

In 1791 Roman Catholic chapels were legalised and schools were permitted. In 1793 a group of local gentry set out to establish an English Catholic school for their sons and for the clergy.

The Oscott buildings had been earmarked as the bishop's residence; however, it was agreed that this should be the home of the new school. One year later St Mary's was formally opened as a college for boys and ecclesiastics. The building was soon extended and the number of boys rose to 35 with further additions being made including the Sacred Heart chapel of 1820 which was designed in gothic style, the stained glass made by Birmingham glassmakers Egintons. Father Thomas Potts, the college president who died in 1819 is buried in a vault beneath the chapel sacristy.

Maryvale Roman Catholic Orphanage opened on Old Oscott Hill in 1851 with a single schoolroom. As Maryvale Industrial School it is known to have received state grants between 1856 and 1862. A new infant school accommodating 85 children which opened in 1895, took some two thirds of its intake from the orphanage. By 1882 the school was being run for over 130 children by the Sisters of Mercy and was receiving annual government grants.

The school building had been altered in 1915, but as the extensive Kingstanding housing estate was built in the 1930s, rapidly growing numbers led to additional classrooms being provided in the adjacent Catholic club. Maryvale RC School became a state aided Roman Catholic school in 1950. Provision for children of secondary age was made on an adjacent site when Cardinal Wiseman RC Secondary School opened 1955.

In 1957 the new Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Assumption replaced Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception which had been founded in the 17th century. A stone statue four metres tall representing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was made by Birmingham-trained Peter Bohn and is set in a central niche on the south wall. The church has a large west brick bell tower with eight bells hung for chiming which are rung using a push-button keypad.

Oscott College 

Under Henry Weedall, president 1824-40, the school and college at Old Oscott grew until the buildings could no longer accommodate the number of pupils. Plans for a new college were drawn up by Joseph Potter, the architect of Lichfield Cathedral, along the lines of Wadham College Oxford.

In less than three years the new Tudor-style building was opened on the site of Holdford Farm near the junction of College Road and Chester Road some two miles from the old college. The name, Oscott was transferred to the new site which then became known as New Oscott.

From the 1840s with the effects of the Oxford Movement, Oscott became a home for former Church of England clergy including John Henry Newman. The Roman Catholic convert and gothic architect, Augustus Pugin also taught and worked here.

In 1846 Newman and his Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri, the Oratorians moved to Old Oscott and stayed there until 1849. Temporarily at New Oscott, they moved to the new Oratory Church on the Hagley Road in 1852. The first Provincial Synod of the restored Westminster hierarchy took place at New Oscott in 1852 when Newman preached his sermon entitled 'The Second Spring'. The 2nd and 3rd synods were also held here in 1855 and 1859.

Outbreaks of sickness in the 1860s and the opening of the Oratory School at Edgbaston in 1856 under Newman caused a decline in the number of students and St Mary's School closed in 1889, to be opened the following year as the ecclesiastical seminary of the Birmingham Roman Catholic diocese. In 1889 St Mary's amalgamated with the 'Olton' seminary which had been established in 1872 on the Oscott site with 36 students; within two years with students from elsewhere the numbers increased to 86 and in 1897 New Oscott became the central seminary for seven of the Midland dioceses. However, a new policy of concentrating diocesan resources on the central seminary was put in place in 1909 and the college at New Oscott then continued its earlier work as the Birmingham diocesan seminary, though still open to admission to students from other dioceses.

Old Oscott is part of Kingstanding . 

Well worth a look - Oscott College.

Potter's original college buildings are in red brick with stone dressings and form the main three-storey facade with a central tower and are in a Tudor style.

A W N Pugin took over the decoration of the plain Georgian-style chapel built in 1837, adding and furnishing it in colourful medieval gothic style and used the college as an early experiment in neo-medieval ecclesiastical furnishing and design. The stalls, pulpit, candlesticks and reredos are by Pugin, as also the stained glass mostly made by Hardman.

There are number of medieval Flemish artefacts including the massive brass lectern collected by Pugin on his continental tour of 1841. Pugin added the apsidal chancel 1861. Much of the medieval collection in the museum was collected by Pugin in the belief that it was only possible to recreate the style with first-hand access to the original.

A burial ground attached to the chapel holds the remains of priests, staff and students who died 1861-1946. A second circular burial ground in the wood beyond has burials from 1880 and a third accessed from Court Lane, which opened c1939, has the reinterred remains from the Catholic Cemetery at Boldmere. Behind the main college block, chapel and museum is a cloister whose windows with those of the refectory are emblazoned with the coats-of-arms of Catholic families. The cloister is flanked on the other side by the infirmary of 1920 which has the original early 19th-century stables and service block behind.

   The Weedall Chantry with its four side chapels was added by Pugin's son, Edward Welby Pugin in 1861, but not completed until 1909. Northcote Hall, also designed by Edward Pugin, was added in 1859 and finally completed in 1881 by Peter Paul Pugin, Pugin's youngest. The gothic-style library and common rooms were added in 1927 by G B Cox who later designed the new Roman Catholic parish church at Maryvale. The theological library and especially the museum of medieval church artefacts hold important collections. The walls are hung with 260 oil paintings of religious subjects, mainly the gift of John, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury. Its libraries of 30 000 volumes include the Harvington library, dating back to the 18th century, the Marini library bought in Rome in 1839, a valuable collection of early printed books, early books on the English Martyrs, the Kirk collection, manuscripts and pamphlets, and the Forbes collection of Oriental and other memoirs, consisting of sixty folio volumes. Among the art treasures are the collection of 15th-, 16th- and 17th-century embroidery, the silver-gilt monstrance from Antwerp 1547, and the early 16th-century bronze lectern in the chapel from St Peter's Louvain. The Grade II Listed statue of the Virgin Mary on the terrace in front of the tower is a copy by A W N Pugin of the late 15th-century statue in St Chad's cathedral. Many of the buildings here are Grade II Listed; the college building itself is Grade II* Listed.

The district of New Oscott lies north of Oscott College between it and the south-west corner of Sutton Park. The busy shopping centre focuses on the junction of the Chester Road and Kings Road, at the Beggars Bush .

William Dargue 06.04.2009

For 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps of Birmingham go to British History Online .

For New Oscott see  http://www.british-history.ac.uk/mapsheet.aspx?compid=55137&sheetid=8339&ox=3687&oy=1565&zm=2&czm=2&x=515&y=276 .

For (Old) Oscott see  http://www.british-history.ac.uk/mapsheet.aspx?compid=55137&sheetid=8339&ox=1616&oy=1192&zm=2&czm=2&x=100&y=244 . 

Map below reproduced from Andrew Rowbottom’s website of Old Ordnance Survey maps Popular Edition, Birmingham 1921.  Click the map to link to that websi te.

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Suggested College Tour Itineraries

Here are some suggestions for schools to visit, grouped by region, to get you rolling. Each list includes 5-6 schools that offer a range of sizes, settings and selectivity to help imagine the possibilities.  We also suggest others worth considering and why.  

Cities currently covered include Boston, New York City, Syracuse, Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  

Click on the Continue Reading link below to see our suggestions, or try our College Tour Planner to build your own custom campus tour itinerary.

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• Boston College
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These popular Boston area schools represent a good mix of size, setting and admissions selectivity.  All are easily accessed via public transportation, and given their relative proximity you can squeeze in two campus visits a day if necessary.  

For a taste of smaller schools in more rural locations, consider driving to western Massachusetts to visit Amherst , Williams , Hampshire College , Smith or UMass Amherst .  If you're interested in engineering, check out Olin , UMass Lowell and WPI , and if you're interested in entrepreneurship visit Babson .  

• Sarah Lawrence

Though we've contained the list to schools in NYC, it's easy to venture out into upstate NY, Connecticut, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania if you're game.  If you're interested in visiting Ivy League schools, both Yale and Princeton are within relatively easy reach by car, bus or train. Cornell is four hours away, but if you head up that way you can also visit Colgate and Hamilton to give you a taste of small, medium and large schools in rural settings.  

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The schools on this list offer a great mix of size, setting and selectivity. If environmental science and forestry are your thing, check out SUNY ESF , and if you have time to venture to Rochester, check out the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology .

Washington DC

• American University
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The schools on this list are medium to large schools in suburban and urban settings. Time permitting, consider also checking out William & Mary , Virginia Tech and Washington and Lee .  

• University of Chicago
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These schools are all classic medium-large universities. For a smaller school experience, check out the Colleges that Change Lives in the area, such as Knox , Beloit , Wheaton , Wabash , Kalamazoo and Cornell College .  

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These schools provide a broad mix of sizes and settings. Kenyon and Oberlin exude a small school, small town feel, Ohio state and Michigan a classic Big Ten college town feel, and Case Western and Carnegie Mellon a more urban feel.

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Most of the San Francisco Bay area schools tend to be larger in size, but offer great variety in terms of locale/setting. Three popular University of California campuses are within two hours: the more rural, bicycle-friendly Davis, the urban, progressive Berkeley, and the earthy-crunchy Santa Cruz.  

Los Angeles

• Claremont Colleges
• UC San Diego

These popular Southern California schools offer a good mix of size, setting and selectivity. You'll need a car to see them all, but in certain situations it's still very possible to squeeze in two campus visits a day.  The Claremont Colleges— Pomona , Claremont McKenna , Pitzer , Harvey Mudd and Scripps —are particularly interesting to visit because of their setup as a consortium with distinct campuses but shared classes.

If you're interested in STEM fields, be sure to check out Caltech and Harvey Mudd. If film or animation are your thing, check out Chapman University , Cal Arts and Loyola Marymount in addition to USC and UCLA.

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Rector's Welcome

Thank you for visiting our website. I hope you will find it interesting and will find the information you are looking for.

‘A seminary is more than a building, it is a community of formation.’ That is the starting point for the Catholic Church’s understanding of seminaries. St Mary’s College has existed as a formation community for 226 years. It has been in its present location for the last 182 of those years.

Formation takes place here in many different ways: but for the sake of convenience we divide those ways into four main strands. They are pastoral, spiritual human and intellectual. You can read about each of those areas by clicking here if you would like to know more.

Even though we are much more than a building we are very proud of the buildings the seminary inhabits. You will see many photographs of them on the website and you will also find various ways that you could visit us. You would be very welcome.

We are also proud of our seminarians and our permanent deacons in formation. You can read about their experiences on the website, as well as their hopes for the future ministries they will have in the Church in the different dioceses and religious congregations who choose to use us to help form their future deacons and priests.

Canon Michael Dolman, Rector

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Prospective College Students: It’s Time to Tour

Visits to college campuses offer essential information for prospective students. Here’s how to navigate them to get the most of your time there.

By Maggie Roth June 24, 2024

Where to go to college is a big decision, and it’s not one to make blindly. College campus tours are an opportunity for students to get their feet on the ground at different schools and get a real sense of whether they can feel at home.

Campus tours also are a good way to speak with people who can share more insights than you’ll find online. Through guided campus tours, appointments with the admissions office, and other opportunities, prospective students can talk with current students, professors, and administrators who can shed light on important details of campus life and the admissions process. 

First Impressions

“The tour gives you an opportunity to see yourself as a student at that school and ask yourself if it’s a place that you feel comfortable and a place that you can see yourself in. It gives you a way to connect with the campus, other than brochures, college fairs, visits to your high school, or other online resources,” says Kayla Nichols, interim associate vice provost for enrollment management and director of undergraduate admissions at Virginia Tech . “And it allows you to figure out if you want to apply there or if you don’t connect with the campus as much as you expected.”

Spring of junior year is a good time to start visiting, she says, because it allows some time to decide where to apply. If you visit earlier than that, the memory of the school might not be as fresh. 

That’s not the only time a tour can be useful. A campus visit after being accepted can help a student make the final decision to commit to a school. 

“When I was considering schools, I was considering a fair amount of them. And all of them were on the table. And when I actually got acceptances, that made it feel a lot more real to me,” says Henry Millar, a head tour guide at William & Mary in Williamsburg who graduated this year. “And I frankly took [tours] a bit more seriously when I knew that it was actually a contender.”

Some schools offer larger tours throughout the year, including open houses and admitted students’ days. Those events may mean that there are more resources available to learn about the school, such as opportunities to interview academic faculty or attend additional information sessions.

It also helps to plan the tour at a time when the semester is in session, suggests Millar. “You could just see students actually using the campus, what an average occupancy looks like in the dining hall, in the library, that kind of thing,” he says. “And you really just wouldn’t get that in, let’s say, winter break.”

What to Expect

The tours typically begin with an information session that focuses on academic and campus life before a walk around the campus. That way, future students learn about the academic requirements, how on-campus living works, financial aid, and other concrete factors. 

“The facilities that you’ll see depend on the institution, but typically, you will have the opportunity to see a dining hall, a library, a gym, an academic classroom, and the student center,” Nichols says, plus some institutional landmarks. 

Prospective students might be itching to see a residence hall, but depending on the school, it’s not always something that’s included in every tour. At Virginia Tech, for example, tours only include the inside of a residence hall during larger admissions events like open houses. 

Don’t feel limited to just the information offered on the general guided tour. In most cases with public institutions, anyone is free to enter the buildings to look around. “I always encourage guests to go and explore,” Millar says. “Let’s say they’re really interested in physics or the business program, [they can] just go in that building after the tour, and I can answer any questions about those programs while we’re on the tour.”

If a guided tour won’t work due to time constraints, many institutions offer resources for self-guided tours. Start with the admissions office — the staff will be able to tell you where to go and what to see, and the office will likely have brochures and maps that will help guide the experience. You can also check in there to show your interest in the school even if you’re not registered for an official tour.

One of the main benefits of a formal tour is the chance to interact with students and other people from the college or university who can share insights into academic and student life. Take advantage of the chance to ask questions of the student who leads the tour, admissions officials, and any professors who speak to the group.

This is where a little preparation comes in handy. Before the tour, think about the most important factors to you and create a list of thoughtful questions. Information about acceptance rates and tuition will likely be answered online or in the information session. Instead, ask open-ended and inquisitive questions, ones where you can’t find the answers elsewhere.

Those questions can have to do with your guide’s experience with the campus, an admissions counselor’s advice for how to stand out on an application, or how study abroad or internship programs work. 

The only questions you should avoid, according to Millar and Nichols, are those that are overly personal for your tour guide, such as their admission stats or financial aid details. “Those answers obviously vary greatly from person to person and don’t impact your own visit or application process,” Nichols says.

“Other than those types of questions, I encourage anyone to truly be candid and open and ask as many questions as you can think of, because I know from my experience as a tour guide, and many of my friends who are our tour guides, that we love getting questions,” Millar says.

Parents or guardians accompanying a student are welcome to ask questions and engage with the tour, but it’s important to remember not to let their opinions dominate. “Really allow the students to take the lead as much as possible, because it’s the student who will be attending the institution,” Nichols says.

Beyond the Tour

Even after the tour, take some time to get to know the campus and its surrounding area. It’s a good time to schedule any meetings you might need, including with the financial aid office. Depending on the school, there may even be more in-depth programs for prospective students, like opportunities to shadow a current student or observe a class.

While on campus, students can check out other things that will give them a feel for student life, such as the campus newspaper and radio station, community bulletin boards, and the dining options both on and off campus. 

“Really remember that this is your process to navigate. It’s your process to figure out if this school is for you or not for you,” Nichols says. “I would just focus on creating that college list, creating the list of questions that you want to ask, and enjoy the process as much as possible.”

Question Your Tour Guide

Ask your tour guide questions like this:

• What is your favorite thing about your college?
• What is a typical weekend like at this school?
• What extracurricular activities are available?
• What was your SAT score?
• How did you get into this school?
• How much financial aid do you receive?

Feature image by Derek Malone/stock.adobe.com

This story originally ran in our  June issue . For more stories like this,  subscribe  to Northern Virginia Magazine.

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Summer College Tours: Who to Meet and What to Do

Summer allows for longer college visits, but some parts of campus may be closed and some people unavailable.

Summer College Tours Checklist

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Whether students are set on a major or still exploring, one of the top priorities should be asking to visit a building where they might spend a lot of their time.

Key takeaways:

• Summer visits allow you to spend more time on campus.
• Professors and others may be unavailable and some buildings may be closed.
• Plan visits when you can meet in person with someone.

While many students and families take college visits during the school year, the summer is still a busy time for college admissions offices to coordinate campus visits. With students not bound by a school schedule or single-day campus tours during the school year, the summer offers more flexibility for students and parents to spend a longer time or multiple days on campus.

“The summer really is an ideal time for that exploration," says Kent Barnds, vice president of admissions, financial aid, and communication and marketing at Augustana College in Illinois. "There’s a little greater flexibility on a college campus then to accommodate visits. Summer is sometimes an ideal time for a student and a family that is at the beginning of the college search and may be a little uncertain about what they want."

Summer visits often allow students and families to explore campus more freely and find parking more easily, says Kelly Nolin, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Montana .

A less-crowded campus can also be good for students who may feel anxious about the college experience and can be a less-intimidating way for them to acclimate to a campus environment, she adds.

But it also means students won't get a sense of what the campus feels like when everyone is there, Nolin says. Families should also be aware that some professors may not be available and some offices or buildings may be closed or inaccessible during the summer.

But experts say that with some planning and coordination, families can still schedule effective campus visits. Here are some tips for planning summer college tours.

Be Intentional When Planning a Visit

While it's less frequent than during the academic year, some colleges hold formal visit days during the summer to ensure people from certain offices are present, such as financial aid, academic advising , counseling, residence life and career services. Augustana does this each summer, Barnds says, and he encourages families to plan their visits on those days if possible.

An alternative would be to coordinate with a person or office your student sees as a priority, such as a coach for a prospective athlete or a professor in their field of interest, and schedule an in-person meeting with them – then plan the rest of the visit around that. Families who show up unannounced hoping to see certain people or buildings may not have much luck, Barnds says.

“It never hurts to ask if that meeting might be available, but I do think that students and families have to temper their expectations about who may be available on any given day," he says. "That’s one of the reasons why one of the formal days might be better visit opportunities, because usually college campuses might be mobilizing more resources."

Employees on 12-month contracts, such as those in career services , financial aid and residence life , will likely be on campus, Barnds says, but Nolin says it's still best to plan a meeting ahead of time, preferably at least two weeks in advance. Admissions counselors can often help with this.

"Counselors are a great resource for not just the time on campus but for what families might want to do in the area," she says. "They can recommend other things to check out. They can also set realistic expectations for who is and who isn’t on campus."

Who to Meet and What to See on Campus Visits

A crucial part of an effective college visit is getting questions answered and having conversations about important parts of the college experience, such as available courses, extracurricular activities , residence life, joining a Greek organization and what's available through student support services.

Visiting certain buildings and offices and meeting with specific campus personnel can also help students make informed college decisions. Here's who and what should be on that list, experts say.

Speak With Tour Guides

Barnds, who is also Augustana's executive vice president for strategy and innovation, says the most important resource during summer visits is often the student tour guide.

"That experience of going on a campus tour with a current student, having the ability to ask that current student questions, that’s the most important part of that summer visit experience," he says.

If possible, students should elect to take a guided rather than self-guided tour so that someone is there to answer questions or provide access to buildings that might otherwise be closed, he says.

Visit Primary Study Buildings and Meet With Faculty

College tours sometimes take students through campus without entering buildings. Whether students are set on a major or still exploring, one of the top priorities should be asking to visit a building where they might spend a lot of their time, Barnds says.

For example, a prospective biology major should ask to see a lab, while a prospective journalism student should ask to see the journalism building or student publications office.

Nolin adds that students should also visit the campus library and university center, and meet with faculty or other academic representatives in their prospective major.

"This might not be a faculty member since many professors are not on campus during the summer," Nolin says. "However, they may be able to talk with a departmental adviser or recruiter."

Though some professors are off campus or out of town conducting research during the summer, some may still be local and available to meet in person either in their office or at an off-campus location such as a coffee shop. Others may be open to meeting virtually, Barnds says.

Eat at the Campus Dining Center

Some schools require residential students, especially first-year students , to purchase a meal plan , which can cost between $3,000 and $5,500, or much more in some cases. Because of that, and the number of meals students will likely eat on campus , experts say visiting students should eat at least one meal on campus. Some schools provide at least one complimentary meal as part of the visit.

"Summer is a good time to try out the dining center because it’s a lot less crowded, although choices may be limited," Nolin says. "It’s most important for students with allergies or food intolerances to try a meal while visiting so they can make sure their nutritional needs will be met."

If the dining center is closed, Barnds encourages students to ask current students or campus employees to recommend several local restaurants where students often enjoy eating. This allows prospective students to get a taste of what’s available in town and experience the atmosphere off campus.

Tour a Residence Hall

Some schools require first-year students to live on campus , but some students may choose to do so for convenience or other reasons even as upperclassmen. Experts say visiting students should ask to see a residence hall building and a dorm room while on their visit if it's not part of the tour.

These visits can typically be set up through the school's residence life office, and some schools have a model dorm room for students to tour while visiting.

Meet With Student Services and Other Support Personnel

Some students may need additional support while in college, whether for academic tutoring, mental health counseling, physical or learning disability accommodations or special health needs and accommodations. Others may want to meet with people in the diversity office, a campus religious ministry or the health center.

Scheduling those meetings over the summer may allow for more meetings and in-depth conversations with the appropriate people, experts say. Knowing where those offices are located, who to contact and what services are available is important to ask about on a summer campus tour, Barnds says.

"Those are sometimes the facilities people don’t see on their campus tours but are the most important facilities once they actually get to a campus," he says.

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14 Tips for an Effective College Visit

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