<p>The obvious disadvantage to visiting out of session is that there isn’t the opportunity to sit in on classes, overnight and shadow a student, meet with a professor, etc. If it’s just a tour and info session then I guess it doesn’t matter too much.</p>
<p>And sometimes on summer visits you do not see university students – instead you may see HS students doing summer programs at the school or students attending for the school for the summer only. It is best to visit when the fall or spring terms are in session. But I do agree, visit when you can.</p>
<p>Parent of sophomore at large OOS public with rolling admission, who had been admitted to several publics in the fall and had to sort out housing issues.</p>
<p>Most publics with rolling admission that we dealt with (IU Bloomington, Univ Iowa and Minnesota Twin Cities) all had separate tracks for housing and enrollment. Admitted students were encouraged to submit housing deposit to get in line for housing as soon as they were accepted as those schools assigned housing based on when you signed up. Typically, all but $50 was refundable if he did not enroll there. We were out a chunk of cash ($150 or so at each school) until he sorted through the process. Enrollment was not required until May 1. Our deposits were duly refunded once he declined the admission offer. </p>
<p>UW, which was his first choice and where he did not get in until February or so, does housing differently. Housing there is a lottery, with deposits due in spring and then assignments made based on randomly-generated place in housing line rather than when you submitted your deposit. UW did not penalize the late-admits for not getting on the housing list back in Nov. As long as you paid your housing deposit in time, you had an equal shot at your top housing choices. </p>
<p>I do not recall any of those schools requiring enrollment, as opposed to housing, deposits in order to proceed. Spending some time on each school’s housing websites plus the CC school-specific boards for each school should answer how your schools manage the process. </p>
<p>As for the value of admitted student days, my son visited Illinois after he was admitted for a regular, not special visit, and UW for an admitted students day. He already knew he wanted to go to UW, and those visits confirmed his preference. I would say the value of the admitted student day was to get a glimpse of peers, to see who his potential future classmates would be. As a kid who had not really focused on the details of college, it also helped get his head around the notion that he was actually moving out, and on. </p>
<p>If your daughter really is not sure which she wants to attend, out of her acceptances, then by all means, spend some time on visits and don’t wait for spring. Keep in mind, though, that students will be heading into exams on most campuses after Tgiving, and that can mean crowded libraries and not many students just relaxing around campus – also, there won’t be classes in session or they will be focused on exam review rather than new learning. </p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter on her acceptances, and good luck with the process.</p>
<p>Really appreciate all the viewpoints and suggestions! The issue we had with our summer visits was, as someone mentioned, no opportunity to sit in on a class, eat in the dining hall, or even meet with a professor at the smaller schools we visited. I do think that in wanting to visit again, my daughter is just looking for more data on fit for her own peace of mind. Good to know schools can accommodate this outside of accepted student days…but I can also see some value in meeting some if your potential classmates as well. Thanks again!</p>
<p>You will need to know the specifics on each school (which we can’t advise) and what is at risk if you wait. That said, if you can wait - and you can keep your daughter’s decision at bay - I would, for as long as you can. More details will gradually emerge on each school which, come April, may take on a greater importance than they do now.</p>
<p>Only exception, I think, is if you had an overwhelming fear, that come April, she would choose a school you now -had come to believe- was absolutely wrong for her. But I’m guessing all schools choices are reasonable, so that isn’t the case.</p>
<p>My D got into several schools (rolling, EA) early - Nov-Jan. In some cases I ordered the college tee shirt online. She wore one to school. Told friends she had gotten in and was thinking about it. It didn’t mean she had decided. It was cool since it was a school on the opposite coast that not many knew about. I viewed it this way - she tried it on for size. After the initial thrill of showing off this “novel” school, she later decided it wasn’t a contender.</p>
<p>Don’t worry too much about tee shirts/bumper stickers. I wouldn’t necessarily send in an acceptance because of it. Also kids get in off the waitlist, often at the last minute. Kids learn that some of their friend’s preferences change - and don’t seem to negatively judge each other over a change of heart - as long as they are doing the right thing by the admission rules.</p>
<p>Op,
I agree with previous posters which say that you should check with the school to see if they will arrange or allow overnight visits. Or if your kid has any previous alumni from kid’s HS that is attending the college then kid can also try to contact them to stay with them.
Great to sit in on a few classes, go out with the social scene, eat in the dorms or on campus, talk with a prof or grad student. It’s a truer picture of what a college is like when compared with the admitted students’ day, which becomes a dog and pony show, and might not represent what an “average” day at the college is like. The admitted students’ days are good though because they provide lots of extracurricular activities and require less planning and work on your kid’s part. The overnight visits you can do now so your kid can make up their mind sooner than may 1.</p>
<p>Waiting until just before the deadline to commit had unexpected, positive consequences for my son. He had heard from all but one school (School A), but because it was one of his two top choices, he waited instead of accepting the package that had been offered in January from his other top choice (School B).</p>
<p>With the deadline only a couple weeks away, School B had student reps calling my son, and even a professor in son’s intended major calling. And then – an additional merit scholarship was added on to the package.</p>
<p>School A ended up sending the thin envelope, but B apparently wanted him bad enough that they sweetened the offer when he didn’t jump to accept it right away. Son is now happily attending School B.</p>
<p>Be patient</p>
<p>My older dd (now a college senior) had narrowed her choice to two schools and was pretty sure she was going to pick her father’s alma mater. We decided to make one more visit to the second choice school, for Accepted Student Day so she could rule it out with a clear conscience. She got in the car at the end of the day, looked at me and said, “Mom I can’t rule it out.” OK. We called dad’s alma mater and arranged for her to shadow a student for a day. At the end of that day, she was very, very quiet. Finally on April 30 (I kid you not) she said, “I don’t want to hurt dad’s feelings, and I know I’d do OK there, but those students, they just aren’t me.” (My husband was fine with it, btw). She ended up at #2 and has never once looked back. So, definitely visit again, in whatever way works with your schedule or budget and if she’s not ready to commit in January or even April, it’s all OK. The really do bloom where they are planted.</p>
<p>i like this thread</p>
<p>I’m in the same dilema with my D. She’s already been accepted at three schools (two safety’s and one high match). Three more schools to hear from. The high match included $12,000 (merit aid) in the acceptance letter and noted that additional aid would be available after the FASFA submission. Now my D…like a lot of teenagers, is very impatient. She made a comment last night that a month from now she’ll know where she is going and wants to put down the deposit ASAP so she can get a good dorm. I told her we’ll have to see what kind of aid package she’ll get. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t the total aid packages from the various schools made available sometime in late winter/early spring? This process is new to me and I don’t want to “jump the gun” on this whole process and send in deposits to schools that may not provide an acceptable aid package.</p>
<p>Most of S’ FA packages came in March.</p>
<p>Yes, I would think that this issue of waiting on financial aid packages (as well as RD acceptances) would make it hard for many kids to make a final decision on schools earlier than late March/early April…?</p>
<p>I think I am going to wait to see back from other colleges</p>
<p>Back to the topic of sending in more than one deposit… </p>
<p>My daughter received an acceptance letter today from one of her top two schools. There were only three pieces of paper in the envelope and one of them was a sheet entitled ‘Tips for the College Commitment - Deposit Process’. Although the school does say the deposit is ‘fully refundable’ before May 1, there are several bullets clearly stating that a commitment enrollment deposit should be submitted to JUST ONE school. </p>
<p>To further emphasize this, on their Class of 2018 Reservation Form (another of the three pieces of paper), the enrollment option includes the following assurance - ‘I have not and will not deposit at another institution’ and the student must sign off on this.</p>
<p>So, regardless of the practice and expectation at other institutions , this particular school wants it understood that double depositing is not okay (despite the fact that their deposit is ‘fully refundable’).</p>
<p>Just found this interesting in light of the earlier discussion.</p>
<p>^^^ I understand where the college is going with this. However, one school where my D was accepted says that the $500 deposit is due by May 1 and is non-refundable. That makes it so difficult to commit to the school not knowing the total FA package the student will receive.</p>
<p>I think this depends on the school. At many schools the students love to take prospectives around (or at least some do). The admission office should also have a list of kids willing to host. Also, does she have some kids who graduated from her school there. A lot of times they are willing to help kids from their high school alma mater. If all else fails, she can post on social media to see if one of her friends (or a friend of a friend) knows someone there. When I said I was taking my kid to Wesleyan on Facebook, a college friend of mine sent me a message that a college classmate of mine (who I did not know in college) had a kid there. She contacted the classmate who contacted her kid. He gave my daughter the best personal tour she had during our spring break journey.</p>
<p>I agree it will be more natural not to wait for special admitted student days when it is more like a carnival and may give the wrong impression. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Anyone know when University of Houston acceptance letters come out… I applied early before Dec 1!!!</p>
<p>i applied to 14 schools. Is that too much?</p>
<p>^^^^ Yes…6-8 max.</p>