<p>Hi,</p>
<p>We are planning college visits during this summer for my S. This is new to us and would like to hear your suggestions. The initial plan inculdes schools in PA, NJ, CT, NY and MA. Should we contact the schools before the trip or just walk around campuses? Do most schools offer info sessions and guided campus tours?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Most colleges do hold info sessions, tours, and interviews during the summer. Be sure to check the admissions office websites for more information and schedules. Some colleges prefer to know who is coming, some just want you to show up. If your student will be a senior next year, then check into scheduling interviews.</p>
<p>dragonboy - When I did campus visits to schools in PA, CT and NY two years ago with my D we first looked at all the websites for the school she wanted to visit to see if they had campus tours during the summer. Then we set up times to go on tours for all the schools that had them. I think it is good to get things set up ahead of time if possible.</p>
<p>Also…some schools use “demonstrated interest” as an admissions criteria. Their Common Data Set usually states if they use it as part of the admissions decision.</p>
<p>You especially want to sign-in for a tour or info. session at these schools. Even if the school doesn’t list demonstrated interest as an “official” criteria, it’s still a good idea for admissions to have a record that you visited.</p>
<p>ALL schools offer guided tours and info sessions, usually scheduled to mesh nicely, and every school I’ve ever looked at published a schedule on their web site. In some cases they ask you to preregister, but usually it isn’t necessary except during huge crunch times like spring vacation. Most likely, you only need to contact them in advance if your S wants to schedule an interview.</p>
<p>I definitely would not just walk around campuses, although spending some time walking around on your own and eating in the student center, etc, can be worthwhile. Most people would say that if you have to choose between the tour and the info session, do the tour. But try not to make a decision about the school simply on how much your kid liked the guide you happened to draw. :)</p>
<p>Try to contact someone in a department you are interested in and make an appointment…if you can’t do the tour try to see a dorm room, the library, sample food.</p>
<p>If you’ve never visited a campus, make a half-day “practice” visit to a school close to where you live just to get a feel for it, even if you aren’t that interested in the school. It’s better, of course, if you are interested. It might help you make better preparations for trips further from home this summer.</p>
<p>I agree with StAndrews - try a local practice run. That said, from experience with lots of visits: </p>
<p>1- We are not big fans of summer tours - colleges aren’t really in session and you get little feel for anything besides the layout of the buildings. It is much better to go when class is in session if you can to get a sense of the campus vibe - this is important to students. I know summer is often the only real opportunity, but perhaps you can consider the summer a screening program to assess college size, location (urban/suburban/rural) and try to tour the priorities in the fall. Or go late in the summer if your HS starts later than the colleges.</p>
<p>2 - Don’t hit too many colleges in one day - they blur together.</p>
<p>3 - If numbers allow, allow your S to take a different tour leader than you. Let him get his own impression without parents asking embarrasing quesitons (we asked those questions, its just that our S/D was on another tour group).</p>
<p>re: “It is much better to go when class is in session…”</p>
<p>Take advantage of HS holidays/days off that are not college holidays. Some schools hold classes on labor day, Columbus day, etc. These days are ideal for visiting schools within a couple hours drive without missing any school time. The only downside is that others can be thinking like you and tours/info sessions can be crowded. UVA had a big crowd on Washington’s birthday, but they had arranged for extra help that day. Let them know you are coming.</p>
<p>It really is very, very difficult to get a clear picture of a school without students on campus, unless it’s a special campus event like an open house. I know there are some people that don’t like open houses but I’ve found them very worthwhile for summer visits. I don’t think wandering around is a very efficient use of time especially in the summer when you may not encounter any students except those giving tours! I remember visiting the University of Delaware with my daughter in the summer and the only people we saw were the admissions office people and students doing the tours, and workers arguing with each other. Daughter did not apply.</p>
<p>Sometimes the campus visit is more about crossing certain schools OFF your list. Even a quick drive by can be enough for “I just can NOT see myself in this place”. We were signed up for several sessions that we never bothered to attend - just a quick “Can’t make it” call.</p>
<p>I agree with skier about being able to cross schools off the list. Sometimes you can only do this doing the summer. You can still see if your son likes the area, he can interview (my son tried to do this even when he was not a senior, bc we knew we could not revisit every school, and we knew that we did not want him to take on 10 alumni interviews in the fall). Sometimes one or two dining halls are open, so you can sample some of the food by purchasing a lunch (often the admissions office will provide a voucher for a complimentary meal). Many small schools do not offer “info sessions”, but offer “informational interviews” (mini info session for the immediate family or for the student). I would encourage you to map out your trip and then schedule appts. Keep in mind that many admission offices have limited hours during the summer. You should investigate hours for tours, interviews, info sessions prior to making appts. The reason I say this is if one school is closed on Fridays over the summer, you might be able to visit them on Thursday and see a different school on Friday. You might want to schedule in a fun afternoon or evening too! I suggest that you take pictures of the campuses and have your son take notes after each visit to jog his memory. My son wrote some quick notes about what he liked and did not like. This helped him months later. One example, is that we noticed one campus had a far walk between dorms and academic buildings. We visited over the summer, but this school has very cold winters and gets lots of snow. We pointed out to our son that he might not like that walk during a heavy downpour, or on a cold snowy day.</p>
<p>Although it’s definitely better to visit when school is in session, we’ve had good experiences with summer tours. Realistically, most of the interaction is with the tour guide anyway and my kids enjoyed seeing the physical layout of the school. But definitely contact them in advance so (1) you’re in their files as having “expressed interest” and (2) they have a tour guide all set up to take you around.</p>
<p>A lot of the schools we visited had online registration forms. It would be good idea to book a soon as possible as we found the bigger schools’ tours booked up rather quickly. Have fun!</p>
<p>Thank you all for all your valuable suggestions. S will be Junior after summer. For some schools on the east coast, we can visit the second time if he is really interested.</p>
<p>We live in NY. I have a close friend in Pittsburgh that invited us to stay with them when we looked at colleges there. So over spring break, my son and I hit the road early and visited Gettysburg for their morning tour and info session and then drove the half hour to Dickinson for their afternoon events. We got into Pittsburgh for dinner and stayed the night there. We then visited Duquesne early the next morning, caught lunch in Oakland and visited Pitt during one of their many tours. We then went to CMU for their last visit of the day. We could taken the 7 hour drive home after that, but stayed another night and went home via 80, visiting Bucknell on the way home. So we got 6 colleges on that day. We’ve done the same here in NY, looking at Manhattan College, Fordham U and Fairfield all on a day, doable because Manhattan College will give you a custom tour by appointment. We will go up to Boston to see NE and Stonehill. If we stay a night, we’ll also try to visit Providence on the way back. </p>
<p>We are planning a Maryland/DC trip as well to see Catholic U, UMD, Washington College, St Mary’s of MD, maybe American U which are on his list. Have to put together a travel itinerary for that. He has looked in Colorado when visiting his brother, seeing U Denver, Colorado College, U of Col in Col Spr and in Boulder and Regis University. Doesn’t want to go that far, however. We’ll be looking at some NY Catholic colleges that are upstate along with a few SUNYs as well. He has a nice list put together at this time.</p>
<p>Is summer before junior year too early to start visiting colleges?</p>
<p>
In my opinion, it’s a little too early for a major college-visiting trip. You might, however, do a few visits in conjunction with other trips (i.e., we visited Columbia when we were in New York for a trip). Prime time for visits is probably in the spring of junior year.</p>
<p>That’s what I thought. We’ll be driving from NYC to Toronto for vacation. Thought we might take a look at a few schools on the way (Lehigh, Binghamton, Cornell, RIT).</p>
<p>In my experience, doing college visits before the junior year is recommended. I have 3 sons and we just happened to do this with my oldest and found it motivated him and my others sons to do well their junior year. They could see what they were working for. I was reading a thread about regrets and a number of students said they regretted not working harder in high school and getting a better GPA in order to get into the college they dreamed of.</p>