<p>Long story short, we were going to go on a few college visits this summer (summer before my junior year) but now we can't afford it. So now I'm thinking of paying for it myself and going alone, but I have a few questions about it...</p>
<p>I have $1100 in my bank account. I have relatives in Pasadena who are going to let me stay with them so I can visit the Claremont colleges and UCLA. I also have relatives in DC who will let me stay with them so I can go see Georgetown. However, I need to pay for transportation: airfare, bus fare, taxis, etc. Is $1100 going to cover it? I looked at roundtrip flights to LAX and they're about $300, so then I got scared to look at ones to DC haha :/ I live in Washington state, by the way. </p>
<p>Is it bad if I go alone? Should I try to save up to bring one of my parents with me, and will they be missing out on a lot if I don't? Will colleges look down at me for coming by myself, or will it be considered a sign of commitment and interest since I paid my own way? Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but I want to know if it's worth trying to make this work or not. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Colleges will not keep track of whether you came by yourself or with your parents. Many don’t even care if you visit or show interest, and even for the ones that do, showing interest carries little weight. </p>
<p>Going through so much trouble to visit is admirable, but IMO not worth the effort. The admission information sessions simply regurgitate whatever information that’s already on the website. Superficial tour of the campus grounds will not provide you with a good representation of the real lives of the students. Like SmySmy, I suggest that you research all the colleges that interest you online, apply as widely as possible, and visit during the admitted student weekends once you’ve received your admission letters. Some colleges will even fund your visit during those admitted student weekends if they decide that your family qualifies for the financial assistance.</p>
<p>Let me ask you a difficult question…if you fall in love with one of these distant colleges, will your family be able to afford for you to go to school there? Not just the tuition and fees, etc., but the costs of transportation and visits and the college social life etc.</p>
<p>If you look at some of the other threads here on CC there are a lot of families in angst over the fact that some students can’t come home for Thanksgiving because it’s not in the family budget, and some threads with students being homesick, contracting mono, etc., and while the parents would like to visit or have their students come home for a quick visit, again, it’s not in the family budget.</p>
<p>Think carefully about this issue…even if your family qualifies for a good amount of financial aid, the aid award does not consider things like family visits or trips to/from home unless maybe at the beginning and end of each semester, if at all.</p>