Students

4 Advantages of Visiting JWU in the Summer

Keyanna Metts
14 July 2022

Looking for colleges online is convenient, but you can’t get the full experience of what it’s really like to be on campus. Will it feel like home and like you truly belong?

One thing that can help you decide is a campus tour! If Johnson & Wales is one of your options, summer is a great time to take a tour or maybe even attend Career Explorations to get an overnight experience. Taking a tour either on the Providence or Charlotte campus can really help you make — and feel secure with — your decision.

Here are some advantages of visiting JWU in the summer.

1. Practically guaranteed sunshine.

When visiting any place you, of course, want to know what the weather is going to be like for your trip. “The best part is that you get to explore in 80-degree weather!” said Isabella McLaughlin '23, a part of the Collegiate Ambassador Team (C.A.T.) who helps run on-campus tours in Providence. (Charlotte’s average temp is a bit warmer with 90-degree weather.)

Providence is less than an hour away from beaches, so you could even plan an entire vacation around your quick tour of JWU. And neither city will be covered in a white blanket of snow, so you do not have to worry about that!

orientation group eating ice-cream outside

2. Summer tours can be more personal.

When visiting during the summer, you get a quiet campus, as most students have left for the summer. That could be a positive! Emily Edge '23 who is also a C.A.T. ambassador said summer tours can be “personal one-on-one experiences with a tour host, with more availability and more tour times offered.” And you’ll still see students, as events such as New Student Orientation and Career Explorations run during the summer months. Edge said, “A typical day on campus consists of anything from exploring the surrounding areas of Providence and eating at the dining halls to relaxing in Gaebe Commons. I enjoy the shift from having a lot of students on campus to a smaller close-knit community of students that work together all summer."

orientation group walking outside while getting a tour

3. City life never takes a vacation … and is just steps away from campus!

All within walking distance of the Providence Downcity campus, you can visit Federal Hill for some home-style Italian restaurants and Thayer St. has a great variety of food options such as falafel, bubble tea, Korean fried chicken and soul food. You can attend a WaterFire event, too, visit the Pedestrian Bridge or drive to Newport.

If you’re visiting Charlotte, you can pack a lot of fun into a weekend with our Wildcat-sourced Insider's Guide to Charlotte tips.

4. You could even help lower your tuition (really!).

Incoming first-year undergraduate students who visit Johnson & Wales prior to September 1 could get a JWU Early Visit Grant! This grant is also renewable for four years! You can get up to $4,000 (1,000 annually).

No matter what season you visit, JWU is ready!