Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many students usually participate on a trip?
A. As few as 15 and as many as 50.
Q. How many schools participate on a trip?
A. Usually one if the group is large enough to be cost efficient. Often 2 or 3 schools in an area will agree on a common itinerary in order to provide a lower cost per student.
Q. Speaking of chaperones, how many travel with each group?
A. We prefer that one chaperone attend for every 10 students.
Q. Who usually makes up the pool of chaperones?
A. Most chaperones are the high school counselors or advisors who work with and often teach many of the student participants. On occasion one of the parents may fill in. This is an excellent opportunity for counselors and advisors to personally visit colleges so they can better serve their students. College Campus Trips Tour Directors also accompany each of our trips.
Q. How many days does a typical trip last?
A. Although most of our tours are customized according to the school’s wishes, the majority of our tours are between two and four nights.
Q. How many school visits are planned for each day of a typical trip?
A. Our experience has proven two college visits per day are optimal. This allows for safe and anxiety-free travel, while also maintaining high student interest. Although we all like to get as much as we can for our money, the purpose of these trips is to absorb the look, feel, and culture of a college. Does it fit the individual? How does it compare to others they are seeing or have seen? Visiting too many colleges on one day or on one trip often creates confusion, thereby defeating the very reason for the trip.
Q. How much time do you spend on each campus?
A. Most campus visits run approximately two-three hours on average, but the time can fluctuate higher or lower depending on the school, the day of the week or the time of the year.
Q. Who provides the campus tours?
A. The colleges themselves conduct the tours with very few exceptions. Most colleges provide admissions orientations as well as guided tours of the campus by appointment.
Q. While on the trip will the students get to visit local attractions and places? of interest?
A. Let us start by saying this is not an entertainment trip. Our trips are fun, but in essence our trips are the first “business trips” these young people will be taking. Like any business trip it is always nice to capture some free time to soak in the local culture, visit some historic points or do a little shopping. We do all we can to provide these opportunities as long as the business goals of our trip are being accomplished in a timely and safe fashion.
Q. Who are the Tour Directors on the trip?
A. College Campus Trips recruits Tour Directors from the academic field so they have an understanding of high school students and the high school to college process. We also employ professional tour directors who have had previous experience with student groups. All of our Tour Directors must go through a thorough background check and we have a policy of no alcohol consumption at anytime while conducting a trip. The Tour Directors have the same goals of the company: 1) SAFETY- nothing is done, no decision is made that does not take into account the safety of our student first, and 2) each student should receive a meaningful, hands-on visit of the colleges scheduled.