College Visits: Ivy League and Other Liberal Arts

<p>I'm currently a senior in high school. I have not visited all my colleges yet, as I had a very busy summer and thus no time. I plan on roadtripping up the east coast over my spring break to look at colleges where I was accepted and any where I was denied to see if it's worth it to apply for transfer. Does anyone have suggestions as to how all the Ivy Leagues except UPenn could be conquered in a week in terms of college visits? I will also want to visit Swarthmore and Williams if there is time.</p>

<p>Start at the southern end (Swarthmore) and work your way north, or at the ~northern end and work south, at the rate of 1 or 2 per day. Well, a straight north-south ~coastal path won’t work to accommodate Dartmouth, Williams, and Cornell, so you might have to make a big circle starting at the Boston airport, swinging up to Hanover NH, over to Williams and Cornell, then down to Swarthmore, then up north along the coast back to Boston. Look at a map.</p>

<p>I’d omit any schools that rejected you. It’s probably a waste of time because Ivy transfer admissions are even harder than freshman admissions. Plus, it’s just bad psychologically to set yourself up to enter one college while pining for another.</p>

<p>aspire, no need to visit all 9, even if they do all accept you. If you should be so lucky, pick your top 4 or 5 and visit those. There’s so much difference in character and environment say between Swarthmore and Williams or between Columbia and Dartmouth, or Cornell and Brown. You should be able to pick the 4 or 5 that appeal to you most to concentrate on.</p>

<p>I agree that visiting those that reject you is counterproductive at this point. Focus on the positive. PS, I hope you had a safety or two on your list.</p>

<p>You’d be selling these schools short to try to visit two a day. Yes, you might get the info session and the tour in, but you aren’t going to have time to check out the surrounding area, talk to students, sit in on classes, visit the depts. you are most interested in, etc…</p>

<p>I agree with the others - don’t bother visiting places you’ve been rejected from. It’s a bit pathetic to show up somewhere because you hope you’ll be able to transfer to in 2 years. The implication is that it’s the school that makes you ‘worthy’ rather than what you bring to the school. And visit only the places you are seriously considering attending - what’s the point of a victory lap at a school you aren’t serious about? Better to spend more time at fewer places and really suss out what’s important to you.</p>