I know that there are a bunch of people headed up to campus for Visit Days soon, so I thought I would mention my favorite parts of the visits that I did at Hope as a prospective student! These are things that I think really helped shape my decision to come to Hope, and that’s a decision that I couldn’t be happier with! I hope these can help you out too!
Campus Tour
I think this one is probably pretty obvious, but make sure you tour campus! I think it’s really helpful to go on a tour with one of the tour guides who works for admissions rather than just walking around campus on your own, but it’s really up to you! I had an awesome tour guide when I visited and he just had really cool things to say about all the buildings on campus. He also recommended potential study spots and told us about where he spent a lot of his time, and I thought it was cool to get an inside perspective from a current student rather than just walking through buildings on my own.
Class Visit
Try your best to visit a class in the department you’re hoping to study in. My junior year I got to sit in on a music class called Eurhythmics, which I absolutely loved! I think that sitting in on a class really helps you see how the students in a given department interact with each other and with their professors and helps you get a little taste of what kinds of classes you might be in at Hope. I think class visits are definitely one of the most important things you can do on a visit. It might not sound the most exciting, but being in class is obviously going to be a huge part and focus of your time at Hope, so I think it is a great idea to get a feeling for what that will be like!
Res Hall Visit
I would definitely recommend walking through at least a couple of different residence halls. As a girl, I would definitely say that walking through Dykstra (cluster format) and one of the hallway format dorms (Gilmore, Phelps, etc.) would probably be helpful so you can see the two different styles and figure out where you might want to request to live during your time at Hope!
Chapel
Chapel was one of the things that really sold me on Hope. Attendance is not required, but it’s always completely PACKED! I think that’s so awesome and really shows the character of so many students at Hope. It’s only about 20 minutes long, but it could potentially impact your visit day more than anything else. I think Chapel is such an awesome experience and I hope you all choose to join in worship with us on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at 10:30 a.m.!
Student Panel
I think student panels are an awesome way to get to hear about life at Hope from current students. You’ll get a chance to ask any questions you might have and get immediate, honest answers from a group of students involved in many different activities, living in different buildings, and studying in different areas, so that’s pretty cool!
Downtown Holland
I. Am. In. Love. With. Downtown. Holland. Seriously, you guys. It’s perfect. For me, downtown Holland is a pretty big part of my time at Hope. I spend a lot of time there with my friends grabbing dinner, coffee, fro-yo, doing a little shopping, or just spending time getting some fresh air! It’s only about a block from campus and it’s definitely worth the walk, even if the weather isn’t the best on the day you visit!
I hope you all love your visits to Hope as much as I did! If you have any questions, feel free to comment, tweet @hopekathryn17, or email kathryn.krieger@hope.edu! Thanks so much for reading!
“This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.”
1 John 4:13-16