<p>Ds is considering two schools that are far away and that dh and I haven't seen. He is revisiting one next month, with the cost partially offset by the school. If I go it will cost more than $400 in additional expense between the air fare and the hotel. I just don't feel like we can spare that money right now. If he goes and loves it, I'm perfectly prepared to send him there, sight unseen by the parents.</p>
<p>Am I being penny-wise and pound-foolish? Anyone else done this and not have it be a disaster?</p>
<p>If you don’t have the money to spare, I wouldn’t worry about it at all. HE is the one who will be living there for the next 4 years, not you. If you both went to visit and he loved it and you hated it, what would you do?</p>
<p>I think it’s okay as long as he goes, since he’s the one who will live there for the next four years. I do think that you should think about the travel expenses you will face if he does attend this school. Is he the type of kid who will be okay if he can only come home a few times a year? Do you have any family or friends in the area that he could visit for short breaks, or just if he needs a break from school? Some kids find it harder to be far away from home than they expect. Good luck.</p>
<p>D and H had taken two trips to look at the campus of her current school, but I didn’t see the place until move-in day. I wouldn’t sweat it. I did want to go on move in day, just so I could have a picture in my head of where D would be spending the next 4 years of her life and to have a frame of reference when she spoke of things going on.</p>
<p>If you really want to see the campuses-ROAD TRIP!!!
Drive nonstop(except for gas and well, you know), U turn, and come back home.
Save you lots of $$$ to drive.</p>
<p>There was this family we met the other day- the girl had found an LAC at the other end of the country, applied ED, got in, and had no plans to visit until move-in day. I mean neither the girl nor the parents had seen this college, and they were pretty comfortable with that.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to one of DD’s chosen colleges- with 2 younger kids and a job, neither of us has the time (or really the $$). We figured that SHE would have to live with the decision, so there wasn’t much we could add. It’s amazing how judgemental some parents can be, nearly stating that we didn’t care enough about our DD to go. Whatever!</p>
<p>We never visited D’s campus, actually neither did she. A nice quad, the usual clock tower green space, she relied on the live cam’s. $$$ saved went for a nicer camera. He has obviously done the research. He’ll be like every other lost freshman the first week!</p>
<p>Batlio, driving saves you money only if the school is close enough that you don’t have to take extra days off from work to make the trip that way. And extra travel time might also require extra nights in a hotel, so…there goes your “savings.”</p>
<p>We drove with our daughter 1500 miles (and 1500 back) to move her in and none of us had ever set foot on campus before move-in day. She knew what she wanted, did her research, and is very happy.</p>
<p>I just bought a great camera. My mom will not see campus until move-in either, but she will see a ton of pictures! In fact, we have been looking at pictures online since I was accepted.</p>
<p>S didn’t visit his campus until June before his freshman year. We had spent $$$$ travelling across the country in the previous 2 years touring schools. He discovered his college while he was living in Asia for a year and couldn’t come back home for a visit. Seems perfectly happy 3 years later.</p>
<p>We were in this spot last year YDS and were prepared to send D solo the weekend before May 1st. She decided on another school the night before her visit so didn’t make the trip (she was going standby on a buddy pass). </p>
<p>Just to echo everyone else, no te preocupas! (no worries ;))</p>
<p>I never saw S1’s school until move-in day. It is DH’s alma mater so he assured me S1 would be fine:) DH committed to attending the school without having seen it. His first visit was freshman orientation (and it was instate,less than three hours from home).</p>
<p>I never did an official visit to my sch. either(also instate). I visited a friend in the dorm but never saw the academic buildings. When I showed up for orientation, I was lost but learned my way around pretty quickly.</p>
<p>In the little town I’m from, nobody did a lot of college visits(way back in the 70’s). Everyone applied to a state u. and found their way when they got there. Parents all assumed we would be fine!</p>
<p>YDS - I dont know if this counts…
I have only seen ds’s first choice campus during a 2-1/2 hr airline layover (yeah we’re a little crazy), mostly with a great cab driver as a tour guide. Never saw a dorm, obviously didn’t eat in a dining center. He is flying out for admitted student open house (1500 miles away). It’s killing me to have him go alone but…
it’s what he wants,
it’s not really in our budget for me to go,
he has to do this on his own soon anyway,
he’s the one who has to live there
he did his research and chose well (4/4, just waiting for 1 on Thurs)
I need to trust his judgement.
he’s perfectly comfortable with all of this. It’s just hard for me. </p>
<p>Have a margarita (and maybe a brownie) and trust that all will be well for your son.
Good luck with all.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman at Carleton, 2000 miles from our home in southern CA. Neither she nor I had ever been to campus (or even to the state of MN) before the day I dropped her off. My husband has never been (and probably won’t ever go). She did her research and knew that she would love it and could not have been less worried. It did not seem strange to me until other parents I met at orientation were shocked that she would choose a school so different from her natural environment without even visiting. She did have the normal concerns about the cold, but even that has not been a problem for her. </p>
<p>She had a lot of schools on her list that were many miles from home and not near each other (many midwestern schools). My husband was adamant that she could not spend money visiting schools when she did not even know if she would get in. Then once she got in and got her FA, she was going to Carleton no matter what, so she did not go to the admitted student days either. It’s worked out fine.</p>
<p>YDS: My parents will have never seen any of the campuses that I am considering. I really think it depends on you. If you are comfortable, then I say go for it! It depends on your S, not you anyways</p>