<p>"and how she is going to feel when everyone else goes home for the three day Columbus day holiday and for Thanksgiving. "</p>
<p>My parents were in Africa most of the time I was an undergrad. I visited friends or family for those holidays.</p>
<p>"She won't like being an "average" student at a school like Georgetown which has a lot of kids from top prep schools with perfect or near perfect SATs."</p>
<p>Or maybe she will. I rather liked being surrounded by brilliant people in college. And I did pretty well in the end too. Not a star, but good solid grades, graduated with honors, and extra honors for my thesis... yada, yada...</p>
<p>I had a friend who came from a tiny town in Minnesota who was the first in her high school to go out of state. She exelled in college, both academically, socially and atheletically. Ya never know.</p>
<p>I just want to echo two things I've read here:</p>
<p>1) Be clear, BE VERY CLEAR, on how much money you will spend. That way when her acceptances and financial aid packages come in she won't be disappointed.</p>
<p>2) As senior year progresses many kids find the allure of going FAR away wearing thin. (Fredo is right about that.) So you may be striving for a good mix of schools geographically too.</p>
<p>I truly appreciate all of the great advice.Lastnight I did take to the pen and jot down many of the schools suggested..and the ideas.Also -today spoke to her GC.He did inform me that at the present time the schools computer system cannot accomodate much information on out-of state schools.He shared that every year he receives a BIG book from Boston and that it always is untouched.He is hoping with future school renovations that more kids will be able to log on to look at out-of state schools.His stance with D applying to Gtown is she just might.W e will afford her the oppt.,to explore a few schools.Perhaps she should read this forum...or is that a parental cop-out?</p>
<p>ie:(just might get in)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Why waste money on an app only to find out later the kid hates how the college looks?
[/quote]
The converse is, why waste money on visiting a college that the kid can't get accepted to? </p>
<p>So in a sense, it makes sense to focus visits on match/safety schools, leaving the reach schools for later. </p>
<p>I think the more practical reason, from a parental point of view, is that a visit to a reach college will tend to build up the student's hopes and their sense of attachment to that college -- if they like it after a visit -- and elite schools often are better endowed and simply can offer more to impress visitors, so safety-level schools seem even less desireable. </p>
<p>In any case, my d. had no interest in my point of view, so she planned her own trips. She also was looking at Georgetown early on - interested in SFS - but decided not to visit because of a reality-check as to likelihood of admission along with workload/expectations of the school. Her trip to D.C. gave her a good list of reasons as to why she did not want to attend any D.C.-area college and all the early front-runners were eliminated from her college list, so I guess there was vaue in the visits ... though it didn't solve the "falling in love with reaches" problem that I mentioned above.</p>
<p>"I think the more practical reason, from a parental point of view, is that a visit to a reach college will tend to build up the student's hopes and their sense of attachment to that college -- if they like it after a visit -- and elite schools often are better endowed and simply can offer more to impress visitors, so safety-level schools seem even less desireable."</p>
<p>Possibly true, but as you note, your D decided against DC after the visit. Ours visited several 'elite' schools as well (interesting how some of them are located next to rather rough neighborhoods - in one case she decided on the drive through the surrounding neighborhood that if she went there she wouldn't be able to leave the campus for 4 years). In other cases, she simply didn't like the atmosphere or the culture. </p>
<p>So, ya never know.</p>
<p>It is IMPERATIVE to make up a safety list of schools as if these schools will be the ONLY colleges to which your D will be accepted.</p>
<p>Because it may come to that...</p>
<p>ellemenope</p>
<p>Couldn't agree more. EVERYONE on this site should read this post: No Acceptances: One Kid's Story, A Year Later</p>
<p>
[quote]
Possibly true, but as you note, your D decided against DC after the visit.
[/quote]
My daughter was visiting match/safety schools in the DC area: GWU, American, Goucher. As I noted, she decided Gtown was too much of a reach without visiting. </p>
<p>The truth is, my daughter never visited a reach she didn't like. In fact, the upshot of her college visits was that she added a reach to her list when she went to visit a friend on the campus. Another reach was probably only on her list because a friend had invited her to accompany his family on a college visit-- I doubt she would have even considered that college if she hadn't been totally awed by her exposure to the campus.</p>
<p>Since my d. got into most of the reach colleges she applied to... no harm done. But I can't promise other families that their kids will be so lucky, so I don't advise the reach-heavy college strategy my daugher adopted.</p>
<p>Another good idea - joint visits with other familes. Yes, we did that too - our D went on a couple of trips with friends, and we took several of her friends on trips as well. </p>
<p>Keeps expenses down for everyone.</p>
<p>To the OP,</p>
<p>What I would stress, from SBMom's list, is #2 and #3 combined. Sometimes students fall in love with (or feel o.k. about, if a safety) a campus, only to realize once accepted or enrolled that the <em>programs</em> and <em>departments</em> and <em>majors</em> are not there, if they do come in with preferences. Overall, the school may be fine, even great; overall the campus atmosphere may suit; details of student life & campus surround may appeal; price may be affordable. But a particular subject area may not even exist as a major (just a minor), or may have a theoretical emphasis when the student wants the more practical emphasis, or the requirements within the major, and/or distribution requirements at the college, may not appeal.</p>
<p>This may all be way too specific for your D at this stage; I don't know. But the point I'm trying to make is, all the above is researchable. I can understand transferring from a college whose atmosphere, after residing there, was not what it first seemed. Our own family never put on a visit-list any campus weak in the area of D's interests; there's no point.</p>