What I Wish I Knew at Visitas

Hello ’29ers! Are you hyped for Visitas? I know I was. But then the difference between my Visitas expectations and reality hit me hard. Real hard. Luckily for you, I’m here 2 tell you 9 things to know for Visitas. (See what I did there?)

1. Adding your LinkedIn details to the spreadsheet someone made will not magically transform your life.

My year, there was a spreadsheet circulating for people to drop their LinkedIns (cue jazz hands), and it eventually mutated to include LinkedIns from some school in New Haven and a few other colleges that don’t bear mentioning. This is, in fact, doing too much. Your life will be fine without the extra few connections.

2. You’re (probably) not going to meet your next BFF within the next 1.5 days.

I understand that Visitas is a nerve-wracking time, and if you didn’t go to one of the 21 major feeder schools (or just don’t have any friends visiting campus this weekend), it can feel like you’re a fish out of water. And that’s okay; there’s no need to force it.

3. The likelihood of you (or anyone else) remembering everyone’s name is 0.0000000000001 percent.

No matter how many times someone tells you their name, where they’re from, and what they’re thinking of concentrating in, it is near impossible to not forget everything they just said within the following 10 seconds to seven minutes. You could try composing a mnemonic device for every person, maybe, but you will forget. And so will they…

4. Missing a club event will not screw you over for the next four years.

A lot of clubs will end up hosting events at the same exact time, each precisely planned to rope you into their pyramid schemes. You do not need to run yourself ragged trying to hit all of them (unless there’s some very lucrative free merch). Missing a club’s Visitas mixer or speaker panel will not result in your permanent blacklisting from said club (unless it’s a really weird club), so just come talk to us about Flyby.

5. An Instagram post of a Veritaffle is not worth waiting in the massive line.

I genuinely think this line was longer than the 57 miles of Widener stacks put together. Once you join the line, you’ll be committing to perhaps two and a half hours of standing awkwardly in the middle of Annenberg, so spare your soul (and the soles of your feet) and don’t bother. The story post of a multigrain waffle with whipped cream and a few berries is not worth it. You can pretty much have it every day once you choose our wonderful school.

6. You don’t actually have to eat where your host lives.

Speaking of dining experiences, I could not find the Lowell dhall (where I thought I’d have to eat) because my host was MIA for a very, very long time, but that didn’t affect me at all. I ate every meal in the beautiful Annenberg Hall, and no one questioned me once. (As a rising sophomore, I will miss it dearly next year.)

7. Your host will probably be busy.

Now, speaking of hosts, some might be really overly enthusiastic, but others will be shockingly cold. If your host is so aloof they might as well be the John Harvard statue, just know, it is almost exam season, and there are definitely other current students who are thrilled to spend time with you if you seek them out. Perhaps you’ll find them at The Crimson’s open house?

8. Yes, the small talk really is that bad.

Apologies. How often do you have to repeat the name of your hometown? Wait, sorry, what were you thinking of majoring — wait, sorry, concentrating — in? Wow, what a long list of words I don’t even understand. OMG, you’re so right, the weather is pretty. Roll Crim!

9. The social media posts aren’t the full story.

Okay, you’ve probably heard this before. But social media really shows you just the surface. Even if it doesn’t look like other people are drained or experiencing any emotion besides ecstasy, chances are, they also feel the anxiety or exhaustion you’re feeling. It’s perfectly normal. Just be yourself.

Most of all, just don’t sweat it. It’s never that deep. Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, and understand that this is just one taste of the chaos that will be freshman year. Hopefully, this will solve, at least temporarily, nine of your 29 problems.

Read the rest of our Visitas 2025 feature here!