With travel times staggering and expensive, films provide a 'nice middle step' for students choosing a university without leaving Bermuda

The high cost of travel means that many Bermudian students pick a university site unseen.

New Jersey couple Cliff and Sami Kramon want to change all that by selling college tour videos for about the cost of baggage on some flights.

"I don't think I have ever met anyone who did enough research when selecting their college," said Mr. Kramon of Collegiate Choice Walking Tours Videos. "At the more competitive schools it is common for students to send out eight to 12 applications."

As a youngster, Mr. Kramon said he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He could have gone to the prestigious Duke University, but chose not to.

"I never saw Duke when making the decision," he said. "Now that I have seen it and it is quite different from the University of Pennsylvania, I don't know if I would have chosen the same university, even though I was very happy there.

"Our goal is to make it tougher, not easier for students to pick a university."

But Mr. Kramon said his videos are meant to be a second best option.

"Nothing beats actually going to the school," he said. "Schools often change. It also makes a difference who you meet."

Mr. Kramon formerly ran a clothing manufacturing company with his brothers. Mrs. Kramon taught English as a second language and helped foreign students and their parents understand the college admissions process in the United States.

Mr. and Mrs. Kramon became interested in the college selection process when their own twin daughters went to college.

"They knew they didn't want to go to the same school," said Mr. Kramon in a telephone interview. "We went up to Boston, but ran out of time.

"It is very tough to visit all the schools which are appropriate. We thought maybe a second best way would be to videotape the tours. It was good enough for us. That is how it came about."

The Kramons' daughters are now in their 30s, but the Kramons are still visiting colleges, this time as a business venture.

"We have now been on about 1,000 tours and we still enjoy it," said Mr. Kramon. "We mostly do the United States, but we have also done some Canadian universities, the top British ones and the Sorbonne in Paris."

There are 350 colleges on the Collegiate Choice list of videos. However, the Kramons do not tend to film community colleges, because most of the students at community colleges are from the area.

He said even in the United States travel times to visit different universities can be staggering.

"The videos are a nice middle step," said Mr. Kramon. "When most children visit a college, rarely do both parents go if there is a flight involved.

"We find fathers are big users of our videos. They are the ones kicking in their money and they are one step removed from the process."

They take the tours with a regular group of students. The Kramons have found that many students do not ask enough questions.

"The children say to mom and dad 'don't embarrass me' but then the kids don't ask questions, but we do. Generally, if you watch every one of our videos, the number of questions asked by the group is tiny.

"They should be asking questions. For example, the tour guide will always say what the student faculty ratio is. The trouble is it is a misleading number. Some professors only teach one class and then the student ratio is very low.

"Another question that should be asked is how important is the sorority and fraternity thing here? For some colleges, I might ask 'When is Rush Week?'"

The Kramons also ask indelicate questions like, are the bathrooms co-ed?

"Before students pick a university they have to decide if they want to live in a city or a small town? Do they need to live near a shopping mall? Is a university too techie?"

He said it is also good to ask if the college is planning any new construction.

"You don't want to hear they just broke ground," said Mr. Kramon. "That means for the first three years your son or daughter will be hearing construction."

The Kramons also ask questions about support systems at the college. They ask, is there a tutoring centre? Does it cost money? Is the work at the school difficult?

"With some of the Ivy leagues, for example, they say the hardest thing is getting in," said Mr. Kramon. "I've heard students say that once you are in the classes aren't all that difficult."

Mr. Kramon said it is also vital to ask questions about where students are employed after attending a particular university.

He said that at one arts school a professor stopped the tape and told students that despite the colleges wide range of contacts in the industry, and prestigious alumni, graduating students still had difficulty finding employment, because of the competitive nature of the business.

"He wanted them to be absolutely certain, before picking this particular career choice," Mr. Kramon said.

Mr. Kramon said questions about transportation are frequent.

"With New Jersey students, the key question is always can you have a car on campus as a freshman? At a small or isolated school, on the video, we will turn around in a circle, and tell the viewer, you'd better be prepared for a small town. The student might decide, this is absolutely not for me."

Mr. Kramon said a university in a city may have no campus at all.

"These are all the things you can get a feel for in our videos," he said. "Ours are good for exploring different options.

"But, as a 17-year-old, it's often hard to know if you are more of a city person or a country person. You often just don't know at that age. But it is such a big ticket expense."

Mr. Kramon felt that Bermudian students were in a good position when it came to American universities.

"Many of the more selective colleges are looking for geographic diversity," Mr. Kramon said. "Bermuda looks more intriguing on an application than New Jersey."

The college tour videos sell for $15 not including shipping and handling. For more information go to the website http://www.collegiatechoice.com or e-mail the Kramons at collchoice@optonline.net.