Thanks to all. I no longer feel like such as slacker, and yes, @RuralAmerica --I ventured over to “The Other Side” of Class of 2020, and came running right back here.
Also, thanks @Vegas1 for being in my corner on the info sessions! Will need to share with the college counselor 
I’m all for the information sessions too! My daughter wasn’t much interested in the school we toured last weekend, but after the info session and student guided tour, it went way up the list!
Info sessions and tours offered much of the same information at most schools but in the end, it was helpful to see how the schools differentiated themselves. And the tours were a chance to observe, whether in the library, on the quad, in a student center. I would definitely do these (and sign up!)
10 is plenty, btw. The one thing you may want to think about are schools that interview on campus. Many will not interview kids before May of junior year, so it could mean a revisit senior year. Most interview over the summer. But otoh, a number of schools that visited our BS let kids sign up for interviews at BS! In any case, it’s generally better to do the interview with admissions if it’s offered and you can (rather than alumni ).
And I always add that zero is fine, too. Some kids just know what they want and don’t want to be bothered by any real-life experiences when they can visit school websites in between Minecraft sessions. I mean, so I’ve heard. 
Remember that not all families can afford to travel to visit schools. AOs understand that, too. You just need to find other ways to get a sense of where you’ll thrive (visiting different “flavors” of schools nearby), and to express strong interest in each school since visiting is one of the items they track to understand how interested you might be.
^^Most of these schools will visit your kid’s BS, and meeting with the rep then is particularly important if you aren’t going to visit.
But I would say that if you were able to visit BS in the application process, you found how “on paper” and IRL can differ, and you should do everything possible to visit a college before enrolling (or applying ED).
@gardenstategal We visited boarding schools AFTER being admitted and discovered that was true for quite a few students, especially those on financial aid. If you only hang out with upper middle class folks and above, it feels as if EVERYONE visits 10-12 colleges throughout the US before applying. The vast majority of families in the US cannot afford to do that… We do them a disservice by making them feel that this is just another area in which they are failing their kids.
@CaliMex , what you said is not inconsistent with what I said. Visit before enrolling. Make use of reps visiting schools.
I am feeling a little rush to judgement. Maybe wrongly…
FYI, Reed interviewed DS20 during visit last month. YMMV. BTW, snowfall in Portland was a nice experience.
@onthewestfence Wow, that´s early! Great to get an interview out of the way, though!
@ChoatieMom —LOL, we´ve missed you over here!
I now have a visual of the Spring College Fair, and the flurry of students who will be approaching these poor admission reps to show their demonstrated interest.
On another note, WHAT ABOUT THE CRAZY ADMISSIONS SCAM! Of course, the disgusting jerk had his college consulting company right here in our backyard. Good GAWD.
We toured a college yesterday and our student tour guide happened to be an alum from my daughter’s school! She was a senior when my daughter was a freshman. Suffice it to say, she received got all her questions and more answered while walking from stop to stop!
With the Fifth Form Parent Questionnaire (aka parent brag sheet) submitted, the horses are out of the gate. GK noted that Spring terms began the last third of their BS journey.
@GoatMama my girlie keeps reminding me that she’ll be a senior next year in both subtle and not so subtle ways! Add in that they order their senior rings in two weeks and that she’s choosing her senior year “marshals” for next year…I can’t believe how fast it’s all gone!
Oh wow, that’s early! Our conversation was more along the lines of “I’m so NOT ready to be a senior.”
^^Funny, @GoatMama , I remember this phase well. Ds not really wild about looking at colleges, etc. He was in such a happy spot junior year. The idea of leaving that world? Not as compelling as I expected it’d be!
Yeah we’re in Neverland over here. Growing up is a scam.
Mine is having the completely opposite experience! She is really looking forward to the unique senior year experience her school has. She’s loving college visits and thinks she has found the one.
I love the Neverland comment! Peter Pan is my daughter’s favorite story and favorite character, but out of all the scary grown up things on the horizon, she’s looking forward to senior year.
I wish that I could report Neverland and the Unique Senior experience!! Ours is getting a wee bit stressed about college admissions, after seeing many of her SUPER hard-working 2019 friends get rejected from highly competitive schools. It was a brutal admissions year for the Ivies. Here in CA, even the more “Regular” UC campuses such as UCSC and UCSB waitlisted qualified students. How much more stress do these poor kids need to endure?