<p>My daughter, who is currently in the 7th grade (in CA), is interested in visiting several East Coast boarding schools this year to get an early sense for whether she will want to apply for 9th grade.</p>
<p>She has time during President's week (February 20th). Is that a good week to schedule visits or will the schools be too busy with the admissions process for the current year?</p>
<p>Any advice?</p>
<p>If they are too busy, they’ll let you know when you call to schedule. Make sure, if you go during a cold time of the month, to dress appropriately! I’m from California, too, and when I went in November I was freezing. If you or your daughter have any questions feel free to PM me! :)</p>
<p>If you are just “kicking tires” and have no need to interview, then I guess President’s Day weekend is fine. Be sure to check if the schools in which you are interested are offering tours that weekend.</p>
<p>Personally, I would just say wait until Summer 2012, set up a bunch of tours and interviews, and avoid having the cost of having to make a second trip. You may not see the school when class is in session, but the campuses are gorgeous at that time of the year. You also don’t have to deal with the crowds as much. We visited Exeter on Columbus Day weekend and it felt like Grand Central at rush hour.</p>
<p>I would recommend waiting until the 2012-13 academic year begins. Some schools require that your visit occurs during that time. You will most likely need to visit and interview during 2012-13 even if you visit earlier, so like SevenDad mentioned, you might as well avoid two trips. Another big plus for visiting while school is in session is that you will see and meet some students. You’ll get the campus vibe and can possibly eat in the dining hall and observe the energy. Your daughter will also be able to get a sense of whether or not she could “see” herself as a student there. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you want to see the campuses in their best light, visit in the Spring or Fall when there are leaves/buds on the trees. In the winter time w/o a draping of snow, even the most gorgeous of the campuses seem bleak.</p>
<p>The problem with going in the summer is that school will not be in session, so you will not get a true sense of the activity.</p>
<p>I went to a few schools in the middle of September, and that was perfect. Although it was already a little cold, it was sunny and the campuses looked beautiful. I also visited Blair during the October snow that happened here in the east coast, and I fell in love with the campus. It looked like a picture book! So I would say to try and go with either sunny or snowy.</p>
<p>I also recommend fall as the time to go…the earlier the better, as you’ll face fewer crowds.</p>
<p>Okay, a different perspective here . . . </p>
<p>If you can afford to make two trips, you should absolutely visit in February! Having that extra time to wander around, get a feel for the place, and meet students and faculty will definitely give your daughter a leg up when it comes time to apply next year. The more she knows about the schools, the better!</p>
<p>I think it would make more sense to send her to a summer program at a New England boarding school. At that time, a parent could visit other schools at the conclusion of the summer program. The weather would be better for travel, there would be more time for an interview, and the interview could be used for the application. </p>
<p>If she were to interview in February of her 7th grade year, she might seem immature compared to the kids who interview in the fall. She would likely interview well in the fall. She will change so much in the next six months. Her 8th grade self may not agree with her 7th grade self’s judgement. </p>
<p>If she wants to try out the idea of boarding, a short summer program at a boarding school would be a better test run. [Summer</a> Boarding Programs - Boarding School Review](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/summer-boarding-schools.php]Summer”>Best Summer Boarding Programs (2023)) </p>
<p>If you decide on that route, though, I think the spots in some programs fill up quickly.</p>
<p>I also recommend the fall. Summer is an option but not preferable as students aren’t on campus. Summer students are not representative of academic year students. </p>
<p>I think many schools do not offer formal tours, etc. in February as they are busy reading apps so I would check on that.</p>
<p>I haven’t visited schools at all but am going to the East Coast after M10 and before A10 (regardless of whether I get in anywhere. It’ll be like a vacation reward). However, I know for sure that Andover doesn’t offer tours then, and most of the other schools are vague on tour info after the Fall. Do I self-tour myself, or what?</p>
<p>CherryRose - </p>
<p>Depending on when you go, you’re likely to find the schools deserted between M10 and A10 - the boarding schools all take their spring break during that period. The students are gone and even the admissions offices are closed or partially closed, with very limited staffing. When the schools open up again (end of March/early April), they’re busy with revisit days and probably don’t have the resources to welcome a visitor who was not invited to revisit. In other words, I can’t imagine a worse time of year to make the trip. If you have offers of admission, then come to the revisit days . . . otherwise, you’d do best to wait until the dust settles again after April 10.</p>
<p>@dodgersmom: Okay- I think my post must have been very confusing.</p>
<p>First of all, the trip is set for late March, after spring break. It is a revisit trip, for the schools that have offered me admission- when I said I’d go regardless of being offered admission or not, I meant that I would still go to the Boston/East Coast, not barge in on schools unwelcomed. I looked on websites where they post tour dates, but I’m guessing (after reading your post) that BS’s have specific revisit days that they invite you to in the acceptance packets, that are not announced to the general public? In that case, I’ll just sit tight, wait for M10, and stop worrying about tours.</p>
<p>anytime but the winter when it is cold, snowy, and usually not the best time of the year at boarding schools. i think winter is the worst bs season</p>
<p>I understand wanting to make use of days off, but I think it’s best to wait until at least the summer.</p>
<p>I like Periwinkle’s suggestion of a exploring summer programs at a New England school. We did something similar, making our first round of visits after picking SevenDaughter up from a non-BS camp. Yes, the vibe is different in the summer (no students or summer program students, who may or may not be that representative of regular matriculated students), but we found that the AOs are more relaxed at that time, and there are fewer families waiting anxiously in the waiting room for your family to be done!</p>
<p>We used that initial scouting trip to pick schools we wanted to revisit in the fall, when students were there and campuses were more fully alive. Of course, we had the advantage of being only a drive and not a flight away…</p>
<p>Two more points of advice: A) Some schools admissions departments have a break in August when noone is there to interview (at least that was the case at Choate and SPS), so make sure to call in late spring to find out their summer hours and make an appointment. And B) I found the Columbus Day weekend to be one of the WORST choices for school visits. The day off made for super crowded Admissions office waiting rooms.</p>
<p>CherryRose - If you search, you’ll find plenty of threads that discuss revisit days, including dates for years past. But, bottom line is that some schools announce the dates online, sometimes well in advance, and others just don’t. So planning ahead can be difficult. Your best option is to check the online calendars for the schools you’ve applied to. Even if the revisit days are not mentioned on the admissions pages, they sometimes show up in the calendar. And there’s nothing wrong with visiting Boston in the spring! :)</p>
<p>Back to OP, I also suggest Fall. My dd had her interviews the second week of Oct., the weather was still warm and the leaves were beautiful. We no longer live on the east coast and we really miss the four seasons. </p>
<p>There are some schools that have “open house” type of days during the Fall where they have planned activities such a school concert, play, game etc…I think that would also be a good time to visit and get a really good feel for the school.</p>