Has anyone done the Discover Tour at the USAFA? They have a morning and afternoon options, is there a difference between the two? Any past experience on the Tour would be appreciated. We are thinking of going in March as long as there's no crazy snow storm (we'll be driving from out of state during Spring Break).
Discover Tour
- Thread starter Karenof2
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- Jan 8, 2017
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I've had students do both morning and afternoon tours. Timing during the day is only affected by cadet activities. The students enjoyed the visits. One consideration for you may be the cadets' Spring Break, which is scheduled this year for March 25 - April 1. 'No one' will be there during the break. Typically, cadets conduct Freshmen Recognition activities prior to the break, so that time will be quite busy. Also, be sure to prepare for weather, as the Colorado weather can be quite unpredictable to say the least.
I also found the following suggestions from an earlier post, which are quite good:
- The Discovery Tour went over the scheduled time by quite a bit. Don't schedule anything to close to the published end time.
- Watch the 21 minute video in the theater at the Visitors Center. It is very informative and starts every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour. I believe the last one is at 4:30.
- [Students may want to do] some research and reach out to faculty members in departments they might be interested in. Everyone was very accommodating and my student was able to meet with two faculty members. I suggest allowing an extra day if you can get a meeting or two. We tried to fit too much into one day and time was tight.
Enjoy your trip!
I also found the following suggestions from an earlier post, which are quite good:
- The Discovery Tour went over the scheduled time by quite a bit. Don't schedule anything to close to the published end time.
- Watch the 21 minute video in the theater at the Visitors Center. It is very informative and starts every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour. I believe the last one is at 4:30.
- [Students may want to do] some research and reach out to faculty members in departments they might be interested in. Everyone was very accommodating and my student was able to meet with two faculty members. I suggest allowing an extra day if you can get a meeting or two. We tried to fit too much into one day and time was tight.
Enjoy your trip!
Thank you for this information, it's very helpful. I'm actually originally from Colorado so I completely understand it could be amazing weather or a blizzard in a matter of hours in March. Definitely not the best time to go. Luckily we have extended family we can stay with.
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2017
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One correction for you: Recognition is in late April, the 20th through the 22nd.
We did the Discover Tour back in November '22 and felt the afternoon seemed to be the better option. We were grateful the temperature had time to climb due to the amount of outside activities during the tour. As a side note, although the instructions tell you to check in at the visitors center, make sure you arrive in plenty of time at the visitors center because they will then direct you to drive over to another building (Arnold Hall) to check in for the official tour.