Campus visit timing

Applying to College
1

<p>My daughter is a sophomore and we are just beginning to think about college visits. Here are a few questions, I apologize if this is a recurrent query.</p>

<p>Is it too early to be visiting college campuses in the spring of your sophomore year? What do people think? I know spring of junior year is a popular time but isn't junior year a 'killer year' when you are busy with AP classes, SAT's, etc? </p>

<p>Also, what is a typical number of college campuses that people visit and what is the recommended way- one campus per day or do most people try to squeeze in 2 or 3? Of course, if the colleges are in the same town (eg NYU & Columbia) then it would be OK, but what about combining, say, Yale & Brown? Cornell & Amherst?</p>

<p>Finally, how good are those 'online tours' as a substitute for an actual visit? I mean of course they are not the same but there seems to be such a large number of colleges all over the country and so little time (and money).</p>

2

<p>I did a 9-day tour of northeast colleges with my D recently over her spring break. We found it difficult to do more than one college per day if we did everything that was offered (information session, tour, attend a class (for her). We also tried to walk around on our own and check out some of the departments she was interested in and also check out the food. In addition there were special tours such as of the engineering department at some schools. The tours are only offered at certain times (they are listed on the school websites) so it makes it difficult to do two in one day without getting stressed out plus we kept getting lost trying to find the campuses and buildings. I think going as a sophomore is a great idea because then your D can start getting an idea of what type of campus she prefers. My D is a junior and every weekend she has had some sort of event or competition (and she isn't even in sports). Plus there is studying for AP exams and SAT tests. We were hoping to visit a few more campuses when she gets out of school in May and then a few in June. I have not tried the online tours but for me it is difficult to really get the feel of a campus through pictures and brochures. My D will likely end up applying to some schools she hasn't visited just because we are going to run out of time and she wants to apply to schools all over the country. The cost of airfare, hotels, meals, etc. adds up quickly also. Good luck and I hope you have fun visiting.</p>

3

<p>It is not too early. My daughter is also in her soph year and has visited at least a dozen colleges. Most of these were in conjunction with her older brother's visits. We saved the schools close to home (<= 3 hours) for days off during the school year. Most college campuses are in session on president's day, etc., and it's allows for visits without missing time from school. Visiting more than one school per day is tough, especially if you are going to make a week of visits.</p>

4

<p>No, it's not too early, but you are always aiming at a moving target--the list of colleges you want to visit, decreases and changes. Yes, your student will be so overscheduled spring of junior year, etc.</p>

<p>You cannot do justice to University of Chicago and Northwestern (Evanston) in one day, not if you are really serious about either. Maybe you could do DePaul U. and Loyola (both Chicago) in one day.</p>

<p>On-line tours...varies widely by school, but you have start somewhere.</p>

<p>The best visits are after your offspring unit is accepted.</p>

5

<p>My thoughts and suggestions. </p>

<p>Spring of sophomore year is too early for a serious campus visit (interview, etc) but not too early for students to start thinking about the process--and some visits can be beneficial to that introduction. Remember that this month is a bad time to get any adcom's attention because they are focused on newly admitted students and improving their yield. Besides, they really don't want to see sophomores anyway. Anything done sophomore year should be kept simple, informal and fun. The process is stressful enough without starting too early. </p>

<p>With my kids, I started them in the spring of sophomore year but not to focus on any particular school, but rather to get them thinking about the types of schools available. In other words: large v. small; LAC v. university; urban v. suburban v rural; elite, competitive place v. more relaxed, etc. Since we live in the Boston area, this was quite easily accomplished without doing a lot a traveling (obviously, not everyone lives close to all different types of places but everyone could make one trip to one place (Boston, Philly, La, etc.) where many different types of schools are close to one another. These visits were helpful to get them thinking about what type of environment they were most attacted to. </p>

<p>In our case, we made visits over the course of a couple a months to Harvard, MIT, Brandeis, BU, BC, Bentley, Wellesley(in my daughter's case), and Wheaton. We didn't take official tours--simply walked around so they could have a basis for comparison. We explained that they shouldn't focus on the specifics of the school--but rather the general type. So if they really loved Harvard--next year we would focus on other Ivy's, etc. </p>

<p>We didn't start developing actual lists until spring of junior year. but the groundwork we did the year before made that easier--because they already had developed preferences for the type of schools they were most interested in. </p>

<p>For us, it worked. They both decided (they are 3 years apart) that they prefered urban to rural, small to medium rather than large, academically challenging rather than party school. Eventually, they each went to Johns Hopkins and each was very happy there. </p>

<p>Good luck and have fun with it. It helps to keep telling your kid that there are lots of good schools out there, don't get your heart set on any particular one and that, contrary to what many of their friends may be saying, this is NOT the most important decision they will ever make and, yes, they CAN be successful even if they don't get admitted to their first choice.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all for the advice so far. One more question- what category of school is it most important to visit- Reach, Match or Safety? </p>

<p>It seems to me that the category that is most important to visit are the "safety" colleges. These are the ones that you want to be absolutely sure you will be happy to attend, right?</p>

<p>OTOH, is it worth visiting the "reach" colleges at all? I mean if there is only a small chance of getting into Harvard why blow a whole day touring it? Why not wait to find out if you get in and then visit it if you do?</p>

<p>Please keep the advice coming, it is very helpful.</p>

7

<p>Concerning safeties, think 'uber safety', admissionwise and financially. The admissions landscape at some schools can change quickly in one year, let alone two. If a safety school has rolling admissions, apply as early as possible.</p>

8

<p>I think it is important for the student to visit all schools actually applied to whenever possible. Colleges are concerned about their yield (percentage of accepted students who enroll) so many look for indications of how serious is the student's interest in the school. Visits (make sure you sign in at the admissions office), interviews, and other contacts with adcoms all display a level of interest. It is not unusual for schools to reject highly qualfied applicants who failed to display serious interest in attending. They all want students who are excited about attending. When distance or money preclude a visit, I would try to arrange an alumni interview and contact the admissions officer for your region to express interest but explain that a visit is difficult or impossible.</p>

9

<p>Thank you bonanza, that was a good point. So that means even a reach school needs to be visited- if only to demonstrate a strong interest?</p>

10

<p>I agree with bonanza's points. Note also another thread about the number of people who changed their minds after visiting a place-either for or against a particular school. 'Feel' matters. The school my son is attending, as his first choice I might add, was a school that I didn't even want to visit because it didn't fit my preconceived notion of where he'd want to go.</p>

11

<p>I really don't think you need to worry about it Sophomore year. While it's true that juniors are busy, most have plenty of time to do their visiting over spring break, or the summer before senior year. By that time, your daughter will probably have a better idea of what she wants to major in and what she's looking for in a school.
I did the bulk of my visits during my junior spring break. My mother and I toured most of the northeastern schools on my list, seeing about nine schools in as many days. We definitely found that one school per day was as much as we wanted to do, although I think two could be done pretty easily if they are in the same city. We only saw fairly isolated little colleges , so we normally spent the morning touring and most of the afternoon traveling. </p>

<p>I definitely recommend actually seeing the schools over taking online tours. There were schools I expected to LOVE after seeing pictures, but the real campus would often surprise me. And the intangibles are a huge factor here- no matter how much research you've done on a particular college, I think it's totally normal to be caught off guard by a gut reaction to actually seeing it.</p>

12

<p>lioninwinter: I think you are right about not relying on online tours. Actual physical presence provides the unfiltered sights, sounds and smells of a campus. But perhaps an online tour could be used the way you can use an online tour of a house for sale- if you don't even like a campus on the online tour, what are the odds you will like the real thing?!</p>

<p>It seems like the sophomore college visits should be more informal, 'ambiance absorbing' trips and not the comprehensive visits that juniors and seniors would make. I like the idea of visiting a small assortment of campuses more for the purpose of deciding what general type of college (e.g, urban vs rural vs suburban; small vs medium vs large) is preferred.</p>

13

<p>I saw my first college during thanksgiving break of my sophomore year (I was already in the area). I didn't end up applying to that school, but it still gave me a general sense of what a college campus was like and it allowed me to begin to think about what i was looking for. I think in that sense it is important to visit early just to understand what college is like.</p>

<p>At the same time, I wouldn't use a visit from sophomore year as my only visit before going to the school. If you get in as a senior and are considering the school, make sure you go again. </p>

<p>I would recommend generally 1 school a day because otherwise they tend to blend in your mind. </p>

<p>I think it is important to visit any school that you are actually considering. There were 2 that I applied to that i never visited, but other than that I saw them all. It gives you a general sense of campus and sometimes you just get a gut feeling. That being said, if you have to limit your visits, i would see match schools since that is where you will likely end up and then safeties so they see a real interest in the school and dont think that you think they are safeties.</p>

14

<p>One more question- is it totally pointless to visit during the summer? Do they even do official tours during the summer?</p>

15

<p>I suggest not waiting till junior year, their schedules are crazy and spring break is completely out if they play a sport. We began winter soph year, tied into vaca. Gave D a direction as to what she liked and didn't. A number of schools do have summer sessions so it is not a complete waste, if that is the time you have avail.</p>

16

<p>I'm glad I didn't visit colleges extensively during D's sophmore year. We went to an open house in-state during her sophmore year and she loved it, it also had her major. We were all set.</p>

<p>Fast forward, we are now in junior year. She came to me a few months ago and said she wants to pursue another major, the new major suits her because she has volunteering at her HS and she loves it! There are no in-state schools that carry this major extensively. We now have a list of 13 schools from Florida to Washington DC that we will consider that are on target with this major.</p>

17

<p>The best time to visit is on a weekday, during the school year when classes are in session. You get a much better feel for the campus culture and student body and you can sit in on classes. Of course, that's also the most difficult time since it usually means missing school for the applicant. Weekend visits or visits during breaks can be misleading because most campuses are very quiet during the day on weekends and during break. Summer visits are also misleading because the regular students aren't there. Summer programs often attract a very different student body and often are much smaller than the regular school year. That said, a summer or weekend visit is better than nothing and you will get some sense of the school.</p>

18

<p>One caveat: don't visit sophomore year unless the student is willing to go...preferably eager to go. If you drag him against his or her will, you run the risk of turning him or her off the the very colleges that might be the best fit.</p>

19

<p>Hunt: You make a very pertinent point. She is a bit reluctant to start visiting campuses right now because:</p>

<p>1) She feels it is too early to be visiting campuses and wouldn't know how to evaluate them....and that is perhaps a valid point.</p>

<p>2) She is too busy with her current school work and extracurriculars and simply does not have time to spare.....which is true but then junior year is reputed to be even worse, so I don't know how valid that argument is.</p>

<p>3) She doesn't want to blow her upcoming spring break visiting colleges when we could be snorkelling somewhere nice and warm....and believe me, nor do we.</p>

<p>4) She is (probably) worried that a campus visit will increase her general anxiety level with respect to college admissions. For example if she visits Yale and 'falls in love' with it, it will only increase her anxiety about how hard it is to get in. This is why I'm wondering whether it would be a better idea to visit the less competitive "match" and "safety" colleges first. Say if she loves a good "match" college then it might actually decrease her anxiety about what would happen if she (gasp) got rejected from YHP!</p>

20

<p>She sounds very reasonable. Go snorkelling.</p>