My daughter will soon be transitioning from one school to another (where do the years go?). She is also already looking at colleges. So, I made a few phone calls recently. I thought the differences were extraordinarily stark.
The questions asked of each school/college/university were exactly the same. "Can we come for a visit and a campus tour, and if so, what can we see and how do we arrange that?"
Private high school answer - "Absolutely. Please contact _________ at _________. They will be happy to arrange that visit at your convenience and talk to you about what classes and facilities you want to see while here."
Private college answer - "Absolutely. Please contact ______ at _________. They will be happy to arrange that visit at your convenience. If your daughter already has an interest in a certain subject, we'll make sure to try to get her into those classes and talk with the professors. Any facilities here at the college can be toured, so just let us know what she wants to see."
Public university answer - "Absolutely. We have campus tours twice per day; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. You are welcome to sign up for any tour that fits your schedule. If you would like more information or a more specific tour after that, then we're happy to arrange one for you and your daughter."
Public high school answer - "No, we don't allow tours and certainly not anyone who is not an enrolled student into the classrooms. You may come by the school and arrange a visit, but you will be restricted to the guidance office. If there is an athletic event you would like to attend, you may buy a ticket and see those facilities while the event is taking place. Unfortunately, we cannot allow you or your daughter, even accompanied, to enter any of the rest of the school while students are here and not to disrupt the classes in session. It's for the safety of our students."
I remarked to the public high school that their answer was markedly different from the private school, and from both the private college and public university. The answer was "those are our rules; it's for the safety of our students". I asked how my daughter and I were supposed to know whether that school would be a good fit for her, and the answer was "she can enroll here and then be part of our student body, we're sure she'll fit". I finally said that talking with them compared to the others made it seem like I was interviewing a prison for my daughter, not a school. That got a very grudging "yes, I know and I'm sorry" reply.
