I am just wondering, if a lot of other families are going down to the wire this year in their college selection. With my first, we had a decision much earlier. With my current, we have whittled down from 9 to 5 schools with about 3 weeks remaining.
For us, this has a lot to do with COVID, and visiting schools for “feel” (of other students, campus, facilities). My daughter has less interest in what she calls “staged virtual tours”, and I can’t disagree. A number of schools are just now opening for tours, and we are touring three schools she was admitted to next week for the first time. A few of the schools aren’t having tours at all, and I think this will hurt them. For those, you can now do a “self-guided” tour where you basically walk around the campus by yourself.
On an related but different note, I do worry about HOW kids are decided this year. For instance, two of the schools my daughter is deciding between did 90 minute virtual live sessions for her major’s department, and after those sessions those schools jumped up in her ranking. On the other hand, a few of the other schools are not doing anything equivalent, so they are dropping in her ranking. My point is, it’s crazy that a simple 90 minute Zoom may be making or breaking colleges this year. I also feel bad for the schools who are in states where the state is mandating no visits, while their competitors are allowing them.
Certainly a strange year.
I anticipate we may not be making a decision until just before May 1, and there are 5 schools waiting for a decision. I am wondering if this is happening everywhere.
Yes we were down to the wire and D21 we probably would have waited even longer were it not for an issue of “first come/first serve” housing on the school he chose. COVID was a big factor. It was an issue with the tours and just not wanting to be far or a plane ride away with how crazy things are. I don’t know if he made the right choice, not because of the school itself, but because of the issue of in-person classes. I can already see on the course selection for Fall 2021 that many of his classes are virtual. Because I like to torture myself, I went onto the 2nd choice school’s site and it looks like many more classes are live. I didn’t have this information when he committed. I wanted to wait until this came out, but he fell in love with the school at the tour, and didn’t want to miss out on the housing, so he jumped on it. I hope the schedules will change for more in-person. I think I care much more about the “normal” first year experience than he does, and this probably wouldn’t have changed his mind anyway. Why am I rambling, LOL, to answer you question it was down to the wire and I’m still unsettled.
Yes, finally down to two (after a walk around at the third this week, no access to buildings. Flying down to SC next week. One is 35 mikes away, the other 750 with no easy access. However the one farther is much more likely to be closer to normal in the fall, and seems to be everything she is looking for, both academically the same. The closer one is less expensive. A few she just took off of her list because they also have no tours.