A photo collage showcases multiple photos taken at different college campuses. According to Encoura, 82% of high school sophomores and juniors report plans to visit college campuses before they apply. (Photo by Elisabetta Silveri)

I recently had — since my mother is reading this — the pleasure of taking a college tour trip with my mom. It was great, and I learned a lot, but they are certainly difficult to schedule. College tours can be hard to get to, but if you didn’t have the time, don’t worry, because I went so you don’t have to. So if you want to save the trip, look at a couple of pictures and read this article, because we will be covering what happens in every single tour.

Hi, my name is [insert name that you will definitely forget], and I will be your tour guide here at [insert school]. I will be walking backwards, so please tell me if I am going to run into something. [Insert story about tripping over something during a tour].

Now we are going to walk by [a mascot or logo printed onto the floor], and the legend says that if you step on it, you will [insert either get an ‘A’ in a class, be admitted, not be admitted, get married, fail a test or ace a test].

As we keep walking, you are going to see our [insert last name] library, which is great for studying because every level gets quieter the higher you go up!

Our average class size is about 25 people, and even though the school is really big, it is super easy to make it feel small. [Note: If it is actually a small school, they will say it feels really big].

You can find community through things like our clubs, which we have a ton of. If you do not find one that you like, it is super easy to start your own! One fun fact I like to share is that we actually have a [insert either squirrel-feeding club or cheese club].

While we have really great sports that compete at high levels, we also have our intramural sports for students who want to play sports on a less competitive level — we even have a [enter strange sport, probably ultimate frisbee] team!

[You will walk by something that the tour guide says looks like Hogwarts, probably some sort of hallway, library or dining hall].

Even though we are in a small town, there is a bus that takes you to [enter big city nearby], so it is super easy to get that “big city feel” without living in a big city. [Note: If it is in a big city, there is a bus that takes you to a nearby small town, where it is “super easy to get that small town feel].”

We have a really connected alumni network, and whenever I am at the airport with my [enter school name] merch on, there is always someone who yells “Go [insert mascot name]!”

As we bring this tour to a close, I just wanted to explain why I chose [insert school]. Honestly, it comes down to the people and the opportunities that [insert school] presents.

That concludes our tour today. You should receive an email asking you to fill out a survey on your experience today, so if you liked the tour, my name is [insert name,] and if you did not, my name is [insert other name].

I hope you enjoyed this article, and as always, if you liked it my name is Elisabetta Silveri, and if you didn’t, my name is Ally O’Boyle!