I agree that for us, visits are more about fit/feel/academic things we learned, and less about dorms and dining halls. All dorms pretty much seem the same to me too, or not enough differences to make it a deciding factor! And our early visits were good for figuring out possible size and location (rural suburban urban) preferences.
If all you do is the tour, then visits aren’t as valuable. Sit in on a class, eat in the dining hall, go in buildings of academic interest the tour didn’t hit, read the school paper, eavesdrop on student conversations.
The best thing we did on tours was talk to faculty in DD’s areas of interest. That’s what gave her the biggest impression of a place, though she is also quite interested in the aesthetics of a campus. I’m glad we visited the far away option, so she could get an idea of just how far away it was and the travel involved. And I’m glad I made her visit (and meet with faculty) the somewhat local school she was dead set against, because that is now where she is happily planning to attend.
We did two college tours, one last March and one last month. We live overseas, so it was a big commitment of time and money. It’s easy to second-guess some of the decisions we made regarding where to visit, but realistically, I think it was all helpful. S ended up not applying to some of the schools we saw last year and also ended up applying to some we didn’t visit (one of which has survived until the Final Two), but the trips helped him realize he prefers small schools, he doesn’t want to do D1-level sports, he wants a more laid-back atmosphere, etc. This year, we had acceptances and rejections coming in while we were traveling, and it was a question of either seeing one last school if it came through or taking a few days of real vacation. The school came through with a large merit offer, so we went, somewhat over S’s objections that he’d seen enough, and then . . . none of us liked it. But even that was OK, as it helped him clarify what it is he likes about the Final Two, and I think he was also surprised and relieved to find that we agreed with him, notwithstanding the size of the scholarship, issues of “prestige,” etc. It was nice to end on that harmonious note, and now it’s up to him to decide.
@JBSeattle Decision has been made and a deposit made. D19 is going to Miami Univ OH. We spent all weekend and Monday there and she liked it a lot. It has been a long process and we are glad the decision is made.
She is a high stats kid for IL and that means hunting for money out of state. She didn’t want to go to UIUC and I don’t think they would have gave much merit so we didn’t bother.
As stated before she was shut out of two ivy’s and a top 20. I don’t think money would have been right if she did get accepted at those. I am afraid she also knew that so I don’t know if she put her heart in those apps.
Her main schools were Pitt & Loyola Chi. I made her apply to Miami. Pitt was about $8K more a year than Miami and would mean loans. So off to Miami for a visit last weekend. A tour guide(Sr) basically told a story that could have been my D19’s. Her mom had made her apply to Miami, but this girl wanted an urban school. She loved Miami when she visited and doesn’t regret it one bit.
Things I would do differently. No out of state visits until you are accepted and know it is definitely possible to attend. We took a trip east and it was a waste in my opinion. I would say do the research and visit if you are serious. That being said I would say all kids need to visit a college just to get a feel for what they may like. Hopefully that would be a close visit.
Only apply to places that you are super serious about attending. It is tempting to fill out a ton of apps, but why bother if you just only might attend. But as everyone says you need enough of a mix of schools to have options. The more money you have the less options you need.
I know most on here know most of all of this but maybe it will be helpful.
I had a nice talk with D19 on the way home yesterday. We talked about the whole process. I cherish those talks. We used to have the same talks on the way home from sports activities.
I have a D23 and we will use this knowledge and streamline the process.
@gpo613
Wow, we have a lot in common with the process and congrats to your daughter.
Our daughter’s are all the same ages!
We are just getting back from visiting Manhattan College. It is more than we want to spend ideally but doable as my daughter will do 10 hours a week of work study.
Her other choices are $44k overall and $57k overall cheaper. We are having another money talk before the decision is final.