A college visit could dissuade a student from applying to their dream school. Or a college visit could seal the deal for a student that was only mildly interested beforehand.

The great significance of these few days raises a pertinent question, how representative and realistic are college visits? While the answer ranges, spending a few days recently at the Ohio State University (OSU) has convinced me that a June visit could be quite unrealistic.

My visit to OSU was both brutally cold and gray. As one professor told me, “it’s a gray city, but that just makes us appreciate the sun more.”

Although the weather was certainly a turn-off, sitting in on classes improved my opinion. I was also able to sit in on a meeting between my brother, an OSU student, and his research adviser.

Shadowing a current OSU student gave me some insight into one possible type of daily life on campus.

For more information on preparing for college visit the College Board website.