<p>Being a junior, I am not sure if college visits are necessary at all right now.
The only reason I would do it is to see which college I should apply for early decision next fall since I wouldn't have enough time in my senior year to travel all the way to the East Coast (btw i live in California) and I heard that students shouldn't visit colleges during summer because campus is practically empty.
So when you go on a college visit, you attend info session, speak with student tour guide people, maybe attend a class, maybe stay overnight, and maybe have an interview with admissions officers, right? (Please inform me if college visits can be of more use than what I listed here.) So summers are probably not a good time to do all this.
I guess my point is when is the best time to go on a college visit (preferably without missing any school)? I am thinking the Feb. break except that some colleges officially invite juniors starting March and April. I don't even know the meaning of "official invitation" but anyways... The big question is IS IT WORTH IT???</p>
<p>If you have the opportunity to visit a school, do so. Many schools appear differently in life than they do on paper. For example, I found U Chicago to be much livelier than its studious reputation suggests. Similarly, the extreme friendliness of Wake Forest students encouraged me to apply. Visiting a school is the best way to experience a college as a high school student, and I'd advise you to spend a night if you can.</p>
<p>I agree. I had always heard that BC was a total party school, but I wasn't aware of how beautiful the campus was, and how good the academics were until I visited.</p>
<p>It's always best to see for yourself IMO.</p>
<p>A actually agree with somuch2do. College visits for me didn't do a whole lot for me. Don't visit over summer because you get no feeling whatsoever for campus life. A visit will tell you no more about the academic standing of a school than will the people on these forums or profiles of test scores, GPA, etc. What a visit will do, however, is give you a general idea for the feel in the surrounding town/city and what campus life is like. I visited campuses on breaks and they were of minimal help. Tour guides, info sessions, and even a visit to a class will tell you nothing more than an hour on CC will. Some classes are great and engaging, some are boring, and you'll find this at every school. The town atmosphere will speak for itself though.</p>
<p>college visits give you a feel for the campus culture.</p>
<p>You really need to visit, ESPECIALLY before making a final decision on where you will attend.</p>
<p>The need to visit is directly related to the funds for a visit.......</p>
<p>college tours can be enlightening. for instance, when i visited Columbia..i loved the architecture and the mystery of it all. it's like a classic forbidden city. there were people running around acting like ninjas which was pretty cool <3</p>
<p>I was pretty sure I was going to apply to NYU as well but then I learned more about it and my opinion of it went down and the tour was just about the final straw. :O</p>
<p>Both my kids said that they had "no preference" as to size and location when it came to college, but this changed once they visited some schools. My son decided against applying to three of the schools on his list and my daughter against one.</p>
<p>As long as the school is in session, I don't think it matters when you visit. I don't think we ever went during "official" times. Of course, if you can only visit at another time, that's what you do.</p>
<p>If you don't have time to visit all potential schools, check out the videotaped college tours at <a href="http://www.collegiatechoice.com%5B/url%5D">www.collegiatechoice.com</a>. My son had more schools on his list than we could conceivably visit, so he checked out some that way. He decided not to apply to three of them and to apply to two others. His final choice came down to the those two schools (so much for our earlier real visits to a number of other places). He did visit those schools when he was making the choice as to which offer to accept (schools usually have special April programs for admitted [but presumably unsure] students).</p>
<p>I don't think it wise to apply early decision to a school if you haven't seen it in person. Early action or RD you can always wait until you have your acceptances in hand.</p>
<p>Some things a real visit can give you -- a feel for the neighboring area (is it scary and bleak, residential or full of stores, restaurants, etc.), a feel for the town (does it have what you are interested in?), the scale of the school and its layout (too big/small, how long it takes to reach places, hilly or flat), the food (we always checked the menus at dining halls and tried them out -- it may sound petty, but you are going to live there for 4 years; we are vegetarians, so seeing if there was a real choice was important), what a dorm room looks like (of course, they vary -- but if the sample room is grim, that tells you something!), the interests of the students (we always grabbed the student newspaper --some were concerned with sports and music, while others showed interests in politics, etc; we also looked at bulletin boards -- gives you an idea as to what sort of activities are going on), and some things you might not even be able to predict that may change your opinion. I know my son was interested in Cornell until he saw the fire hydrants with flagged poles sticking out. When he heard this was to be able to find the hydrants in the snow, he reconsidered. (We also thought it was cold but students were walking around in short sleeved shirts -- what is the winter like then.)</p>
<p>I think college visits are one of the most important parts of the college admissions process, I honestly feel that it is a necessity to atleast visit the colleges after you get accepted and before you say yes to whichever one. If it is possible to visit, then do so!</p>
<p>thanks for all your really helpful comments.
does anyone have a suggestion as to when it would be an appropriate time to visit?</p>
<p>Make sure you visit while school is in session. It's important to see what life is like with students on campus during a typical day.</p>
<p>The folks who put together the <a href="http://www.collegiatechoice.com%5B/url%5D">www.collegiatechoice.com</a> website did some great articles on college visits at:
<a href="http://www.lunch-money.com/Guides/College-Visit/resVisit1.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://www.lunch-money.com/Guides/College-Visit/resVisit1.aspx</a></p>
<p>If you can't make it to a campus, a good alternative is to check out any online virtual campus tours you can and to talk with recent alumni. You can get some really honest answers from current and former students about their experiences at the school. While this probably is still not a substitute for a campus visit, it can definitely help fill in some of the blanks.</p>
<p>Also, be careful about putting too much stock in a college visit. Remember, you are seeing only a small snapshot of the school.</p>
<p>I think the clearer idea you have about what you want in a school, the more valuable a college visit can be.</p>
<p>somuch
Hopefully you have visited a few schools in your sophomore year, so you have some idea of the type of school you prefer; urban vs. rural; small vs. medium vs. large; </p>
<p>My daughter visited a few schools during freshman and sophomore years, maybe 2 road trips with 4 schools each trip, and then never saw another school until after being admitted. There was no time during the school year, and she just felt that she knew what kind of school she wanted, and she would visit after getting in, but before deciding. It certainly worked out perfectly for her.</p>
<p>You could still visit a few schools during your Spring Break (so long as those schools are in session). And maybe try and do overnights next Spring when you are finally choosing between 3 schools that admitted you. :)</p>