<p>So basically I am applying to a wide array of schools and I haven't visited any that aren't within a 5 hour drive. The schools range from Cali to Colorado to the mid-west and east coast. I fear that the month of April might be a very challenging month for me as I will have to chose what school to attend in the fall. I can't visit these schools before accepted because I might get rejected and then wouldn't have enough money to visit ones I actually get in to. That being said, I don't know where I should visit in April. I really only see myself able to get on two plane trips that month. Do I chose which ones to visit based off of the fin aid package? What happens if I don't think a school I visit is perfect and one I haven't is a better choice? Has anyone here attended a school they've never visited? I'm sure it could be very risky. What do you think is the best way to evaluate this situation? Thanks!</p>
<p>I think you answered your own question. If two visits in April is what you can do, then pick the two favorite schools that accepted you AND that you can afford. Like you, both my boys applied to schools in several time zones, and we limited their April visits (re-visits in some cases) to three each (Brown, Carleton, and Colorado College for S1, and Whitman, Willamette, and L&C for S2). These visits helped them to be sure, and as a parent I was happy to pay, within reason, for some level of certainty before making a much bigger investment in their educations.</p>
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<p>Pretty sure there are many who go to college without visiting first. Visits, especially to non-local schools, are often a luxury; many students are happy just to go someplace that has their desired majors and is affordable. It is likely that even many attending the local community college have never set foot on the campus before their first day of class or shortly before for administrative work and/or placement testing.</p>
<p>If you have time and budget for N visits, then wait until April to figure out what choices you have (based on admission and sufficient financial aid). Then visit your top N. Make the most out of your visit – before going on your visit, write down what you want to learn from the visit and plan your visit accordingly (perhaps pre-arranging whatever it is you want to see).</p>
<p>Once you have all your acceptances, weigh the pros and cons of each. Major accepted to? Location? Size? Rural vs suburban vs city? Cost factor and any merit aid. Hopefully you will them be able to narrow down the schools you want to attend/visit. </p>
<p>Son1- Decided not to visit any schools he applied to. Then he had an invite to visit and interview for a full scholarship at one. Went. Loved the school and got the scholarship. Decided he had no reason to visit the other (Many higher ranked) schools. He also knew that he would be happy at any of the great schools he applied to (not his safeties) and was probably correct.</p>
<p>Son2- Visited 4 schools prior to applying. Hated two. Decided on size of school, suburban, etc… Accepted to 15 of 15 schools. Looked at 2 that he was very interested in, plus the 2 he liked at last visit and made his choice. </p>
<p>When I was in school, I transferred from a NYS school to a school in Michigan. Big ten. Sight unseen. How could you go wrong with that. best choice I could make. loved it!!!</p>
<p>As far as your question, pick the schools with the best fit for you. Add in the cost factor and go see those one or two schools.</p>
<p>I’ll probably make my final college decision “sight unseen”. So far, I’ve only visited one of the colleges I’m applying to. Since I’m applying to 3 schools in the same city I might get a chance to visit those, but I have pretty clear preferences if not. I think any Northeastern or Mid-Atlantic school would be an improvement over where I live now, so I’m not too picky about it.</p>
<p>For some reason I have such a difficult time imaging myself somewhere I have never been. “Vibes” are really important to me in social situations if that makes any sense. All of the schools will be difficult in terms of academics and so I am not worried about that. I want a distinct social culture and it’s pretty hard to have someone describe this without actually visiting.</p>
<p>Wait until the acceptances and aid packages arrive. Run the numbers here: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) Re-visit any nearby place that is on the affordable list, and make trips as necessary to farther away places that are more affordable.</p>
<p>If you can’t visit the only/most affordable place, and it offers everything else that you are clear you want and need, pretend you are an international student, and just go there. It will probably turn out to be perfectly OK.</p>
<p>I’ll probably revive this thread in late March to get some more opinions as things might be more clear then. Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>enrolling without visiting isn’t ideal but it happens. For colleges that are reaches it makes sense to put off a visit until you find out you got in.</p>
<p>However there is a way to approximate a visit, and in fact is something you should have done already. Colleges come in broad groupings; a large public, a small LAC, urban, rural, etc. I bet there are colleges near you that fall into the category (or categories) that you think you are interested in, and you can visit them to get a rough sense of what it would be like to attend another example of the group. Attending a lecture or two at a large public, talking to some current students about what they like and don’t, will give you an idea of what its going to be like to attend any similar school. Same for a small private, for a college in a rural area, etc.</p>
<p>Not advisable. BUT…there are exceptions. Money, travel time, family schedules. </p>
<p>By April narrow down your acceptance list to 3 schools. Spend APRIL visiting those schools in ORDER OF YOUR PREFERENCE. Make a decision. Pull the trigger. If a school you cannot visit is in that list then make sure your parents are on board, understand and you can afford to attend there, including travel expenses for breaks, holidays and emergencies. </p>
<p>International students do this a LOT. But they arent americans who look for social factors. Internationals typically could care less. They ONLY care about academic prestige. Sorry, but its true.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Visiting schools to decide is very nice but it’s by no means necessary. Back in the day it was very common for students to lay eyes on their college campuses for the first time when they showed up to move into the dorms at the beginning of their freshman year. Somehow they managed to survive.</p>
<p>@ sovereign debt: </p>
<p>That might be the case for many of us, and especially the vast majority of asians. I can assure you though that most people here (Germany) and the surrounding countries do so because they either live the US and have friends/family there, love the education system, love liberal arts which is not available here and want to broaden their horizon because they might already have studied abroad and are now ready to explore the next country.</p>
<p>I have already visited schools in the surrounding area and definitely decided I want a small liberal arts school. I am by no means expecting to get into all the schools I applied to but it could be quite difficult to visit three different areas in the country for time and money issues. I think financial aid may end up playing a large part as liberal arts schools all calculate it differently and on top of that merit aid might change things also.</p>
<p>3rd planet, financial aid may narrow your choices, so wait and see which schools work best for you. I would advise visiting if possible. You can learn a lot by reading, going on the internet, contacting other students, but being physically on campus is different.</p>
<p>When springtime comes, if you can,consider how to do this as economically as possible. Perhaps it is possible to stay in the dorms with a current student (avoiding hotel fees), flying out on one ticket and travelling by train to a second nearby school, staying with relatives’ friends. You could post here for travel tips, where to stay and eat for economical choices. </p>
<p>If it is not possible, try to find out as much as you can about the place you will spend 4 years at. If financial aid narrows it down to one obvious choice, and that is the one above all the others, then perhaps a visit won’t be necessary as you would choose it regardless. But if you have more then one choice, visits might make a difference as to which one you like best.</p>
<p>I haven’t visited half of the schools on my list but have researched about them. Although nothing is better than visiting yourself, check out sites like ***** or usnews and watch a video or see what the students say.</p>
<p>Another thing you can do once the administrators are back at the schools in the new year is see if they can put you in contact with any current students that are home on break and live in your area. Even though classes may not start back up for a few weeks the adcoms will probably be back before that since they have a lot of apps to go over. So you may be able to get a hold of somebody on campus. Sitting down and talking with someone that’s just a year or two ahead of you can give you info on what it is like to be a student there.</p>
<p>I haven’t visited any of the schools I’ve applied to.I personally think it’s fine as long as you do a lot of research, take virtual tours online, watch videos, and etc. But if it really bothers you then I would try to go to an accepted students day at the final two or three colleges you’re thinking about.</p>
<p>I am kind of having this problem too. One of my top choices that I have been accepted to is in Chicago, my other top that I was already accepted to, I have already seen and loved.
Unfortunately I highly doubt I will be able to visit the school in Chicago, would it be too risky to attend there without even being in that area before?</p>
<p>Should the schools’ financial aid packages be compared by the tuition minus all grants and scholarships? I’m assuming I should forget about counting loans and work study off of what I have to pay? This seems like the most accurate way to compare them or else a school that gives a lot of loans might look better financially to one that actually costs less.</p>
<p>ur definitely not alone…</p>
<p>all internationals have to do the same…</p>
<p>but i have stalked the schools enuf on youtube etc to feel as if i have been there…</p>
<p>as for the environment and vibe…ill have to take others word on that and hope for the best :)</p>