Whether it’s answering questions about campus traditions, affinity groups or the future of Northwestern basketball without Boo Buie, NU tour guides must be prepared for it all, Weinberg sophomore Daniela Aves said.
To become a tour guide, students must undergo a competitive application and training process, Aves added.
Aves said she applied for the position during the spring of her freshman year, but knew she wanted to be a tour guide even before coming to NU. The realization came to her while on a campus tour at a different university.
“I really liked how well-spoken (the tour guide) was. She seemed to really understand the campus, and her tour in general made me become obsessed with the idea of becoming a tour guide,” Aves said.
Of the over 250 students that applied in the spring, only 52 were offered the coveted position of tour guide, Emily Coffee, Assistant Director of Admission and Tour Guide Director, said in a statement to The Daily. This makes up a surprisingly limited acceptance rate of 20%.
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions also saw a 30% increase in tour guide applications in 2024, according to Coffee.
There are 120 tour guides on staff, Coffee wrote, who represent a “microcosm” of the University. In the application, students share their majors, hometown, extracurricular activities and choose from a list of 25 “talk to me about…” NU-related prompts to showcase their involvement and knowledge to the hiring team.
“Our prospective students and families come to us with diverse interests, passions, experiences and hopes for their college experience,” Coffee wrote. “It’s vital to hire a diverse group of tour guides who can speak to the many experiences available on campus.”
After completing the application and a group interview in front of seasoned tour guides and coordinators, Aves was accepted and began the next phase as a prospective tour guide: the training process.
Weinberg junior Pooja Krishnan, who joined during the spring of her freshman year, said the quarter-long training is rigorous.
Aves said it included a quiz about NU history, shadowing two tours, one solo practice tour and four joint tours before becoming a full-fledged tour guide.
“Sometimes my first time presenting information would be in front of prospective students, which was kind of nerve-wracking,” Krishnan said.
Although tour guides have required stops and general information they must share on each tour, they are encouraged to highlight their personal experiences and make the tours their own, Coffee wrote.
Tour guides are also responsible for persuading prospective students to attend NU by sharing why they chose NU, Krishnan said. At the end of her tours, Krishnan likes to highlight the niche programs and sense of community NU has to offer.
“I like to present NU as a school where you have to work hard — no doubt — but also as a school that is a lot of fun,” Krishnan said. “You meet a lot of different people along the way, and being surrounded by such a diverse community is something that I really enjoy.”
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