Building a Frame of Reference of Colleges & Universities

Parent Cafe
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<p>Thank you for all your suggestions. Right now, we are planning to tour 4 and may do a few info sessions over a 2+ week period. I will be aware of fatigue. The remaining 3 are drive/walk through with one college a question mark. I was talking to someone in Admissions at one of the colleges today, and she felt strongly that a rising 10th grader was not too early, and that he should listen to more info sessions. The reason is that he can still make changes to his courses & grades at this stage. The Admissions person felt that by 12th grade it was too late to make changes. </p>

<p>We will visit a few bookstores and libraries. Also, when possible, we will have lunch on campus. </p>

<p>It sounds like many people don't visit colleges before applying. Is that true? Do you just wait until admitted and then do the due diligence?</p>

42

<p>We visited most colleges S&D applied to; I think the only one we didn't visit was UChi, but I sent grandmother to visit (which was mentioned in app.) Many colleges count each contact because in these days of multiple applications they want to make sure candidate is interested in attending (also known as yield management.) Schools that are at a distance will be more forgiving of not visiting.
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UChi did make it into final three, but ultimately S decided on another school without visiting UChi. We had been on campus of other school at least three times before S applied, a sure sign to me that he was really interested. He spoke to and e-mailed professors as well, which he only really did at one other school.</p>

<p>Even if you just drive through schools, make sure you walk into Admissions and fill out a card.</p>

43

<p>
[quote]
It sounds like many people don't visit colleges before applying. Is that true? Do you just wait until admitted and then do the due diligence?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh no. We definitely visited lots of schools before applying, and it is a crunch. Even after applying and getting acceptances and scholarship offers we had to go back and see some again. At least one far-away school got its first look after a nice offer was made. It makes for a busy winter break junior year (a really key time) and all throughout senior year right up to they send in that deposit.</p>

<p>For senior year visits (the really important ones) you want to keep on eye on the colleges' calendars, because you really do not want to visit when school is out of session!</p>

<p>Note also that schools generally have a big "accepted students' open house" in March or April. It can be a large, very overwhleming event, but some people find them very helpful if they're torn between a few schools at the bitter end.</p>

44

<p>^^I think there are 3 kinds of visits. Type #1 is what you're about to do, just walk around the campus, follow a tour, go to a session, hang out and eat, see how the campus feels to your S. It's wonderful to have no pressure.</p>

<p>Type #2 is the tour where a kid is going to interview. Sometimes that's a return trip to one of the ones above. Other times, it's the first step onto that campus, so usually you schedule a tour followed by an interview by appointmment, same day (or following day if you're overnighting in a motel). </p>

<p>Type #3 is in April of Senior year, after acceptances, rejections and waitlists all come in and there's a month to decide by May 1 (not all but many are on this schedule). Some kids re-visit a college or two at that point, on or off of "Accepted Student Days" (some applaud this, others say it's a "sell job" so avoid it). It's a good visit if a student can't decide between 2 places, or just wants to confirm good feelings remembered from an earlier visit.</p>

<p>In our family, the oldest did the first two, and substituted some phone calling/emailing/rereading materials for the third category once acceptances came in, so he could make his final choice. </p>

<p>The second kid did the first two and discovered she had a favorite, so applied Early Decision. When that came in for her, there was nothing more to do but say "yes" to it.</p>

<p>Our youngest skipped a year of school so we were always rushed. We only got to visit 2 of the 8 places he applied, and even those were of the "walkabout" non-interview nature. Then his best offer came in from California, something he never dreamed would come in for him. If we could have afforded it right then, the best thing to have done would be to send 2 of us out there, just to confirm his website perceptions, but it was too costly with last-minute airfares. So he simply said "yes" to that offer and is going there in two months, sight unseen. Not ideal, but his major is so specialized (screenwriting, for heaven's sake) that we feel confident he's chosen his best option. Actually we'll go out with him because with advance notice we can afford the airfares. Very excited to see it. </p>

<p>And I think all of these are fine approaches. On CC there are some parents who greatly enjoy and can afford many rounds of visits. They savor the conversations in the cars, especially, and the chance to get away from household routines (and other sibs) to focus on the process.</p>

<p>Others can't afford it, for a thousand reasons, so just do the best they can with online research, phone visits, regional alumni interviews. I've also seen big tourbusses with kids sweeping several campuses in a region. Perhaps these are organized by their highschools, I don't know. And my dear brother shepherded a friend's son because the mother had no resources or mobility for this entire process. He wanted the lad to be able to make a good decision, and was basically paying forward what his dad had done for him. </p>

<p>CC has recently created a $1,000 scholarship to expand excitement over reporting visits, and I'm so delighted. It will help everyone read about more colleges that they can't visit personally, so that scholarship helps the entire reading community here. These appear in a section called Report a College Visit, or words to that effect.</p>

45

<p>Paying 3 has some good points...if I had to do it over again I would not waste money on the first category UNLESS it was part of a family vacation, or was just a tour to "jump start" the idea of college, and for most of the population, you can get that kind of variety within a day or two drive of home, unless you live in Wyoming, or Alaska. For #2 we never had the need, as nobody expects students to lay out travel expenses for an interview, and even required interviews can be arranged near a student's home base or waived if there is no way to do one within a reasonable distance. </p>

<p>I'd save my money for the #3 variety of visits--in our experience neither DD got a full, unvarnished, honest picture of what it was REALLY like until she had been admitted. Until then it's just too much mass production for kids to really discern whether a school is right or not.</p>

46

<p>Once again, Paying 3 makes excellent points. </p>

<p>Since S decided in Dec of junior year to apply to college, he missed #2. I'm glad that he had seen campuses on various trips (summer programs of 2-3 weeks) and family vacations. </p>

<p>When acceptances came in, I spent an entire morning planning multiple flights for least amount of money. (Less than $300, but with one-stops between 2 designations). </p>

<p>For people like Paying 3 and my son, who have a definite focus (e.g. film or tech), this plan worked. Had my S wanted a LAC or mid-size university, 2-day visits would have been necessary to make an educated choice.</p>

47

<p>Mythmom and Bookworm,
If DS had that kind of initiative consistently, it'd be truly scary! ;)</p>

<p>Actually, most of his friends were graduating seniors this year and they were all IMing each other about what to do, how to decide, etc. He was their interested party (but not in the throes of decision-making angst) sounding board. It was a REALLY good learning experience for him. </p>

<p>His friends have selected a wide variety of schools, too -- some highly selective, some at the flagship with $$ and opportunities for research, etc., so it will be interesting to see how his friends fare over the coming year and if their experiences influence his decisions.</p>

<p>He visits the bookstores, too. Trolls their math stacks! I like to look for the local used bookstores. There is a great one in Chico, CA that we hit every summer to stock up (and bring an extra suitcase for the purpose).</p>

48

<p>Be aware that some of the colleges on your lists are located in less vibrant towns, especially in the summer. Bucknell for example can look pretty dreary outside of its campus. In contrast, Ann Arbor will look lovely at this time of the year. </p>

<p>Dickinson, Bucknell, Grinnel and Kenyon are pretty similar in many respects. If Notre Dame, Northwestern and Chicago are not super reaches for your son, perhaps you may want to sample a more selective LAC as well. If substituting Dickinson with either Haverford or Swarthmore is not too much of a detour, either one is well worth visiting.</p>

49

<p>Burb, how does your son feel about this? It seems like a good idea if he is okay with it. If not maybe you can cut down on the number and it should be sufficient to visit one LAC, one small university and one large flagship university.</p>

<p>Remember that summer attendance is typically relatively small and he will not get the same feel for the colleges he is visiting, particularly the LAC(s).</p>

50

<p>I don't think a student gets a full, unvarnished picture until he/she starts attending a school, but we do believe the visits gave our son enough info to make an informed choice. All of his options were good ones, so the re-vists were really for fine tuning. It's a luxury to be able to spend as much time visiting as we did, especially since we enjoyed it.</p>

51

<p>If a kid has never set foot onto a campus, I think summertime visits can still be quite interesting. The very layout of all these buildings, the way a library looks, all in comparison to the high school, makes it still a worthwhile and motivating experience to visit colleges. You just won't get as much of the sit-in-on-classes or see the excitement of large groups of students. However, there may be some there anyway, working summer jobs on campus, with time to talk. Also, for a young h.s. student some years younger than college students, perhaps it's good to take it in stages. Just understand you're seeing the "bones" of the college and can come back again to find out what it feels like full of students. As long as your S is curious and interested to see it, why not go? Just try not to make any harsh conclusions about any one place you visit this summer. As you said, you're not picking a college, just seeing how different kinds of places feel. The tours go on all summer, so you can get that information without bad weather concerns. There are some advantages here.
Just for its value as a summertime jaunt, lots of college towns are interesting to visit, with all kinds of quirky things to do on and off campus.</p>

52

<p>Often I think that parents enjoy these college visits far more that our students do. The last things on most rising hs sophs priorities are colleges and college visits. Most want to sleep in late, play video games, hang with friends, play ball and pursue hormonal fantasies.</p>

<p>Even I would get antsy extending a 3 day drive to Iown into a 9 day college tour.</p>

<p>Check with your son and consider consolidation if he does not seem okay with this.</p>

53

<p>Actually, he is becoming more and more enthusiastic. The last 3 times I discussed it with him, he agreed wholeheartedly that it was a good idea. We are touring 4 colleges, and I haven't decided how many of these will include the info session. We will walk through/drive through 3, and we have one as a maybe -- at this point looking like a probably not.</p>

54

<p>
[quote]
We met her for dinner in Harvard Square and took a little walking tour of Harvard Yard and Harvard Law School. At the end of it, my son said to me, "Is this where you want me to go to school?"

[/quote]
We took my son to see Harvard and told him we thought he was a better fit at the school down the river. Wouldn't you know it that school rejected him and Harvard accepted him! But if you've got a driven kid I agree, make it very clear you are happy with what is right for them. I can't remember if it's been said in this thread, but I think it's a good idea to identify safeties that look like good fits early in the process.</p>

<p>We found the accepted students visits most helpful - that's what sold us on Carnegie Mellon.</p>

55

<p>My son enjoyed listening to talking books in the car during college tour car trips. Othershave mentioned lively discussions in car, and I can see that, too, but S really enjoyed thinking about something else for a while.</p>

<p>He also enjoyed going to movies in college towns or near by cineplexes. Again a break, and a bridege to ordinary life. </p>

<p>And I can confidently say the first time a girl took him for a college student and flirted with him his enthusiasm for college visits skyrocketed. He's self-conscious and the knowledge that he didn't register as a little kid helped enormously. After he spent part of a summer on a college campus (same age as your son) he was able to own the process and feel part of the world of college and not "an anthropologist on Mars."</p>

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<p>mathmom: S of close friend got BS at Duke and Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon. Along the way he also acquired MA at Cambridge who recruited him. He adored Carnegie Mellon and got hired to teach in AI department, $90,000 right out of the pen! (Dad, a life-long prof., cog. sci., is jealous.)</p>

57

<p>I was just thinking that the summer my son #2 was a rising junior, he went to a computer camp at U Mich (which is a long ways away from us). He learned a lot about college in those 2 or 3 weeks. He learned about living in a dorm (it was fun) and how to get around on the campus (take the shuttle). I think it was a great way to get a feel for college while doing something he thought was fun.</p>

<p>So that's a little suggestion for parents whose kids are more reluctant than OP's. (Like most of ours! :) )</p>

58

<p>I will vote with Weenie here! DS1 attended a small, quirky summer math program last summer and it has had EVERYTHING to do with what he wants to do and where he wants to attend now. It didn't atrract him to that specific school, but it made him quite aware of (and confident in) what he does/doesn't want in his college experience.</p>

<p>DS and DH did a five-schools-in-five-days tour over Spring Break this year. Part of the reason for DS taking copious notes, etc. that I mentioned previously was that we were afraid it would all run together after that kind of trip. They both agreed afterwards that five-in-five was definitely the limit. They were both feeling pretty wiped out mentally by the end, and after driving 2000 miles, physically pooped, too.</p>

59

<p>Countingdown we really appreciated your son's copious notes. I'm very impressed with his initiative. I predict he'll have lots of great choices next year.</p>

60

<p>If time permits, detour north from Chicago to see the UW- Madison campus (much friendlier and nicer campus than Michigan per some on CC who've dealt with both). Inlaws spent the day seeing U of Chicago and Northwestern enroute to our place- good summer tours at both. At this age seeing different types of campus atmospheres- large/small, public/private, east/midwest... is an excellent idea. You can use smaller blocks of time to visit areas closer to home. </p>

<p>The terrain in Michigan and Wisconsin is different than that of the states to their south- more hills, lakes, trees. Once you've seen Chicago you may not want to continue as you will have driven a lot by then, and can find a lot to do there. Consider two trips (you still have a lot of time)- a driving one that gets you as far west as Ann Arbor with a circle through Canada to get back to NY. Another to fly into Chicago, rent a car and see Chicago, Wis and Iowa schools.</p>