Cancelling college visits?

Parents Forum
1

I was planning to take my son on his first college visit this weekend, to a small local school where demonstrated interest is considered important.

Now, they’re calling for snow, or possibly freezing rain. I’d rather not travel in the snow, and I’d definitely rather not tour the campus in freezing rain! I think the school is a strong possibility for my son, and I’d like him to see it at it’s best.

What’s the etiquette for cancelling when you’ve reserved a spot on a tour? If we back out on a Saturday tour on Friday, will that be held against us? We registered online. Does he call and cancel, or email admissions and say “We’re so sorry!”

2

They are large groups. An email stating you can’t make it due to snow but plan to reschedule should be fine. It won’t be held against you.

3

The people who are taking down the information are administrative. It’s doubtful they are decision- makers.

4

It would show extraordinary interest if your child is there despite the weather

5

ClarinetDad16, it likely would make him look extraordinarily interested, but it also might well make him extraordinarily uninterested if he leaves with a bad impression due to the weather.

6

If there is freezing rain, I’ll bet that the tour guide prays that everyone cancels.

7

Most schools with a way to sign up online also offered a way to cancel online. Did you check the email confirmation?

8

Come admission time, no one is going to remember what the weather was when you toured to give extra kudos for coming out in the snow. They’re just going to know whether the “visited” checkbox is checked. I’m sure schools have many cancellations due to inclement weather. Did you get a confirmation email? There would like be a link to cancel or at least an email address if so. If not, go where you signed up and see if there’s an automated way to cancel. If not, then I would just email the admissions contact listed on the site. Reschedule for a later date, and you’ll be fine.

9

My son registered with his email, so I didn’t even realize there was a confirmation. I just asked and it says "call if . . . " so I’ll have him do that when it gets closer to the date.

10

We either called or emailed even we couldn’t make a college visit. People are right. You’ll just be talking an admin staff or a work study student who’ll just make a note. Not a big deal

11

Just a tip, going forward you might want to set up an email box you share and use it for all college- search related activities going forward. It will likely save you headaches downstream.

12

Many of the schools we visited last year had email signups and there was a way to cancel or change the date in the system. One school I think asked to cancel via email.

13

I think you are smart to cancel. The one school my son went from loving to hating was the one where it was cold, windy, and rainy on the tour. He felt like the students were unfriendly :wink: I was happy with it because I thought the school was a bad fit except for the one department he was interested in.

14

Definitely cancel. My kids hated all the schools they toured in bad weather. It’s not logical, but it’s understandable.

15

One school we toured delayed our tour by two hours due to ice and snow. Cancel and go when the school can put its best foot forward.

16

We toured over six colleges where they definitely tracked interest. There was no way to sign in that you were at the tour. $$$ down the drain.

Go figure.

17

^Only if you are visiting just to show interest. My kids got a lot out of their visits. And it gives your kids stronger “Why College X” essays.

Ironically, it poured the day D1 visited the school she ended up attending. She loved it anyway.

18

Sounds like you have an excellent reason to cancel.

We had one school at the end of our college trip that DD had an interview scheduled, along with the tour. She/we were tired and decided to cancel. However, in looking at the website, it said (to my surprise) something about last minute cancellations will be noted and viewed negatively. I will say that they do fill up their interview slots so there is some premium on them. So she went, interviewed, and it ended up as one of her top choices.

19

Cancelling won’t be held against you, especially if there is inclement weather. Just reschedule whenever you can. I’m sure you won’t be the only one!

And our experience visiting colleges was different from @MaterS. At every school we visited there were sign-in sheets and the schools definitely recorded who was in attendance. And even if it wasn’t recorded I never felt that the visits were not waste of money. My kids could cite the visit on their interview/application/and reference specific things they liked about the schools on the school specific supplements. Plus we got great feel for many schools, eliminated some from the final list, and for my D the visits helped her to decide she definitely wanted to apply ED at her school.

20

We toured Michigan when it was -25 ( air temperature). The consideration that Michigan put into that tour (keeping us outside as little as possible by rerouting the tour, stopping for hot chocolate midway, doing all talking only when we were well inside and in a place we could unzip coats and remove hats) helped convince my kid to go. On the other hand a tour of northwestern when it was 48 degrees and they basically let us into only one building instead having the guides speak while we were miserably shivering in the cold wind outsider of buildings convinced my kid that was not the place for her.