<p>Hello, and thanks for reading! I'm a rising senior and so far I have only visited a few colleges within my state. My family and I were planning a road trip of sorts to New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania in order to visit seven colleges in these states.</p>
<p>The problem is that my parents are wrapped up in work or out of the country until August 16th. The schedule so far would involve us leaving on the 17th and returning near the 24th. It only just struck me that college students will be moving in and returning during that period of time.</p>
<p>My question is, would this be a bad time to visit a college, since there will be so many students and families already bustling around the campus? </p>
<p>the schools will either almost be empty , with lots of last minute work being done on campus (pardon our dust and paint) or like you said just coming into full gear , very hectic, disorganized and full of freshman who for the first couple of weeks will look like disoriented mice lost in a maze! not a good time to visit (I.M.O.) can you wait until the start of October perhaps?</p>
<p>My son and I are having a similar problem. A lot of schools starting the week of August 25th stop giving student run schools but you can still visit but they will only give you a map to walk around campus. On top of this problem is that my son has an incredibly busy fall schedule that involves being busy every weekend until the end of October. This week we are doing our last road trip and then will concentrate on day trips to schools closer to home.</p>
<p>The thing with move-in is that schools are basically a mess. You have thousands of kids and parents, all extremely confused trying to settle in. The schools will also have the majority of their resources to helping the people move in to the dorms so you should make sure that there are tours going on. It’s not the most ideal time to visit, especially as there will be no parking anywhere but if that’s the only time you can, it’s not the end of the world by any means.</p>
<p>If you can visit when schools are in session that is best. You want to see more than the physical campus of the school, you want to get a sense of who goes there and the overall “vibe” of each college. That is best done when school is in session. If Aug. is the only time you can go, then go…but if there is a choice, I’d opt for when the schools are in full swing.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone, this definitely helps! Our school allows up to five days of absence for college visits, so perhaps we can try for October. And good luck to you, MACLASSOF2013.</p>