Deciding on colleges when you can't visit

Parents Forum
1

<p>Like most HS seniors right now, my d is mulling over the colleges that accepted her and is now trying to decide which one to accept. She was fortunate to visit a few of them on her list (however it was during the summer when campuses were quiet). But due to tight budgets & time, she will probably visit only one this month.</p>

<p>But, how did some of you decide between the different colleges if all you know is from internet research, talking maybe with other people, and looking over the course catalogues? And did some of you eventually choose a college in which you've never visited?</p>

<p>Are there other avenues of info that she could explore for those colleges she won't be able to visit? Facebook even?</p>

<p>This is really my d's decision, but I'm trying to offer some tidbits and thoughts as guidance as she goes through her decision process.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

2

<p>In my opinion it is important to visit the college if you are seriously considering attending. It can look very different on paper and on a website than it does in person. And I don’t know if you can necessarily base your decision on other’s opinions , as can be seen over and over right here on CC
My daughter applied to a couple of schools without visiting first. there just wasn’t enough time. Some of them she loved without expecting to, others not so much.
You can’t get the real feel of the student body if there isn’t anyone there.</p>

3

<p>She might be able to rule a college out by watching a video of an actual tour that took place while school was in session. Collegiate Choice Walking Tours Videos can give you a little more of the feel of a school. She could perhaps order some of those off the web and watch them?</p>

<p>I know international students often have to, but if at all possible, I think she should not accept an offer of admission from a school she has never visited.</p>

4

<p>Unless she is getting massive financial aid, I presume you are going to spend a significant amount of money for her college tuition over the next 4 years? I realize the budget is tight but money you spend now to visit the colleges will be well spent in helping you decide how the rest of your money is spent. </p>

<p>If you really and truly do not have the money and/or time, then perhaps you should find actual people your daughter knows or can relate to, who can paint a realistic picture of life in that college. You may want to ask the college admissions office to help you locate recent alumni living in your area?</p>

5

<p>Visiting is nice, but by no means is it a requirement for success in college.</p>

<p>Back in the day, like when I went to college, the majority of students never laid eyes on their college prior to showing up to enroll during Orientation Week - especially if they were going some place out of state. Mostly you went sight unseen. No websites in those days either. There was word of mouth and some brochures and view books. That’s it. Somehow people got through it all reasonably well.</p>

6

<p>My S NEVER stepped foot on campus of the school he now attends, where he is thriving and very happy. I know of other kids similarly situated. Visits, according to me & my S are highly over-rated. My S decided he would love and thrive where he was planted. He made his choice based on finances, how willing the school was to work with him/us, the reputation of the program, what he could gather from speaking with others, climate, geography, and factors I don’t know. He said a visit would just be a waste of resources.</p>

<p>When we went to colleges, back in the day, none of the 6 of us ever visited before applying and stepping foot on the campus when school began and we were all pretty happy and got our degrees–undergrad and grad. Never visited the schools we applied to for grad school either & we were all happy there.</p>

<p>Visits are “nice,” but can be very misleading–much depends on the kids you happen to meet, how hard/easy it was getting to campus, which teacher(s)/class(es) you visit, and other variables that can be more or less representative of the entire school.</p>

7

<p>when I went to college - more than 35 years ago - I visited my favorites and made my decisons based on what I learned in my visits. However these schools were not far-flung, all being in New England. For me the visit was very important.
My S initially said he did not want to visit schools and he would just pick one, but I convinced him to visit a couple and now he wants to visit the rest. He is finding it valuable. But his schools are spread far and wide so it is very tricky. It is worth it to me because of my own visit experiences. But that said I think it is most valuable in helping you decide which ones you should cross off the list, not so much the one you should pick, and if you just can’t swing it (the visits), then do as much research as you can, go through the catalogues, talk to some students, and choose based on the best knowledge you can get and it should work out.</p>

8

<p>Mine went sight unseen. I’d have said to give a visit before, but parents report all kinds on bad info here.</p>

9

<p>It might be helpful to list the ones you’re not going to get to visit. People on CC may not have taken the time to write a college visit report, but would certainly comment here on schools they themselves have visited.</p>

10

<p>With the internet, books and college web pages there is a ton on info available to students. In fact visits are not perfect either and sometimes give a prospective student an overly negative picture of the college. My wife was literally in tears after visiting Oberlin College with the possibility that our ds might be attending there. However the visit moved Oberlin to the top of his list. Same visit totally different reactions. Go figure. The same could happen by visiting on a cold drizzley day vs a warm sunny fall day with the trees in full color. Hey thats why the college brochures take them during these beauty days too.</p>

<p>Like many parents here I chose to attend Ohio State without a visit or literally any other information. The only material I got was the University catalogue which contained a few b&w photos but hundreds of pages of course descriptions. That was enough to sell me!</p>

<p>Of course it would be preferrable to visit a college one time or more but if that is impossible just get as much alternative info as possible.</p>

11

<p>I second the recommendation to order the Collegiate Choice walking tour DVDs. They are about 15 dollars each, and actually film the walking tour (and sometimes audio of the admissions information session) at the respective colleges. This is much more realistic than the sometimes glossy videos/info on the college website. Caveats: the video qualtiy is awful! They are filmed by the college counselor who runs the company, and he admits he is no videographer. Nonetheless, you get to see the campus buildings, hear the answers to the questions people on the tour ask, etc. Also – some of the videos are several years out of date, so there may be new buildings or ongoing contruction since they were filmed. Nonetheless, we had my daughter view these before making decisions to visit and just looking at some of them (“I hate the campus!”) was enough to rule out a visit. Probably saved us hundreds of dollars. Looking at a few of those you deem most likely to be potential choices will probably either reinforce or negate those impressions.</p>

12

<p>If you cannot visit, go to the course catalog and compare to the course selection function of the webpage. Make sure that a good number of the courses ‘available’ are actually offered. Some catalogs list every course in their database even if the professor who offered it has since retired.</p>

<p>Read the student newspaper online.</p>

<p>Call various departments to ask questions; supportive answers (or lack thereof) can be quite telling.</p>

13

<p>I think this somewhat depends on the personality of your child. My oldest can be rather intolerant of people and her college choice is going to boil down to whether she feels comfortable around the other students. That is hard to really tell from reading about the school. My other child is more adaptable to different people and I could see him going somewhere without visiting first. I applied to graduate schools without visiting any of them (no money) and had a good experience. </p>

<p>Another possiblity if money is an issue is to ask the college if they will pay for the airfare for your D to visit. That is main cost since your child can stay in the dorm and eat in the dining hall when she gets there. One college my D was accepted to sent her a $300 travel voucher for airfare so she is definitely visiting that school. </p>

<p>I would not consider time as an issue since this is a really important decision and should be given priority by the high school and the student.</p>

14

<p>Also wanted to mention one thing my D is finding helpful. She was accepted to Duke and they matched her with a recent grad she has been emailing with. He in turn introduced her (via email) to other current students or recent grads with particular interests.</p>

15

<p>I also think personality of the student along with experience with the type of environment are important in deciding whether or not a visit is necessary.</p>

<p>For example, if you are from Manhattan and have never spent time in the midwest, I would say it is risky to decide to attend Grinnell without visiting.</p>

<p>This was many years ago, but I started at Carleton having never set eyes on the place and transferred out after freshman year. I highly doubt I would have decided to attend there, had I visited previously. I was picturing Minnesota as described in Little House in the Big Woods, and Northfield is in the middle of cornfields. </p>

<p>If I had been less of a romantic and known myself better, I could have made a better choice, even without visiting.</p>

16

<p>Thank you <em>all</em> for your very helpful advice & input! As you can tell, we live on the west coast, and of course, my d decides that she wants to go to college in the furthest place possible – all east coast schools. She got rejected from her preferred choice (Barnard), and so, her decision is a bit more challenging. (Barnard would’ve been a no-brainer and she would’ve been done with the deposit sent in by now.) She’s now is considering 5 schools that accepted her: Goucher, Bennington, Bard, Marlboro and Franklin & Marshall.</p>

<p>Honestly, I’m comforted by the fact that all of these schools are good choices for her and she will be fine no matter where she ends up. But there are differences, and I will definitely check out the Choice Walking Tours videos!</p>

<p>She has visited Bard thru their Instant Decision Program, and is familiar with that school. She also has visited Goucher on a tour during the summer. But she has never visited Bennington, F&M and Marlboro. (However we went to a Marlboro student reception in LA recently, but like the school, the reception was very small. :slight_smile: )</p>

<p>We are going to see if she can fly out to Philly and take the train to Lancaster where F&M is located. Bennington & Marlboro, tho’ are next to each other, are more difficult to get to, and probably my husband or I would have to go with her (thereby increasing our travel costs).</p>

<p>It’s funny that some of you mentioned how you never visited the school before arriving, and both my husband & I also went to a college that we had never visited before. It just seems like that’s the way it was back in the old days, and I think most of us turned out just fine and were, overall, happy with our college experiences.</p>

<p>I guess we’ll just muddle our way through all of this, seeking out information whereever we can, knowing that it will turn out fine in the end. I suspect that “gut feel” or intuition plays an important role in the student’s decision on where to attend? That is, despite doing the research, talking with alums & current students, etc., does the decision ultimately boil down to that little voice in your head on choosing the college?</p>

<p>Thank you all again!</p>

17

<p>I should add that my d is pretty flexible and open in terms of living conditions, location, etc. She has been away on summers in a variety of situations and is pretty adaptable. (However I do worry about some colleges on the extreme end of her choices – for instance, Marlboro, while being an excellent school, has only ~350 students total, and is in a more remote area than her other choices.) Well, I’m sure the choice will reveal itself to her in the next couple of weeks, but I will be bugging her to do her research, talk to people and try to get her out to at least one of these schools!</p>

18

<p>Bennington is in a small town and I believe Marlboro is only CLOSE to a small town – Marlboro is such a small school and so isolated that it just the type of school your d should visit before deciding to attend, IMO</p>

<p>We have vacationed (summers) in the area, and have driven through Bennington.</p>

<p>If Barnard in NYC was her first choice, it’s kind of hard to imagine choosing a school in the wilds of Vermont as a second choice…</p>

19

<p>Hi fendrock! Yes, that’s why at times, I scratch my head at my d’s logic. :slight_smile: She has consistently told me in the past that it’s OK if she goes to a school in a small town/more remote area, as long as she can occasionally take a train to a more populous area or city, (like Bard). I will have to continue to remind her on this, and ask if this will continue to be important to her. I also suspect that if the college is in a pleasant town-setting like Bennington or F&M, that that would also suit her. But, I do worry if she would be happy at a more remote area like Marlboro, despite its excellent reputation.</p>

20

<p>350 students at Marlboro is not very many, especially if they are your only cohorts for four years – and Bennington is not much bigger.</p>

<p>Bard is MUCH closer to a major metropolitan area than either of these schools.</p>

<p>(Of course my experience of Northfield, MN shows my bias against small and/or remote places – personally I prefer cities…)</p>