<p>So, if you can't visit all the colleges you were accepted at, what ways will you (or did you) go about gathering all the information you need to make your decision as to which college will be the ideal choice when you have not visited all of them?</p>
<p>I'd love to get suggestions on the best ways you think you can remotely gather information that will lead to a wise choice as to the best "fit" college -- and, in particular, how to do so for Vassar. Living abroad, he has never visited the campus.</p>
<p>In terms of narrowing down colleges to apply to, it was easy. A long-time family friend who knows S very well and knows Vassar very well, told him he should consider it. He then read up on it, liked it. He met an alum at an international college fair and liked what she had to say and also was impressed with her. He didn't just throw his application in to see what would happen...but, in the end, he never visited and I don't think that should be the way to cross a school off the list at this point.</p>
<p>So...what suggestions do you have for him to make up for having not visited Vassar, so that he could choose (or not choose) Vassar with some degree of confidence that he has made a wise decision?</p>
<p>Read student reviews on **************.com. I love doing this.</p>
<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC App</p>
<p>Crap…it didn’t show up… c o l l e g e p r o w l e r (dot) c o m</p>
<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC App</p>
<p>I have friends at Vassar, so I’ve asked them a ton of questions. I took a virtual tour(it’s been a while since my last visit), and I googled a lot of assorted pictures of the campus. My parents are alumni, so they’ve provided some assorted stories.</p>
<p>How did the virtual tour compare with your personal impression of Vassar? Was it representative? Over-the-top idyllic? Did it leave you cold compared to the goose bumps you had when you toured in person?</p>
<p>There’s also this that I found, <a href=“http://sayanythingvc.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/[/url]”>http://sayanythingvc.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/</a></p>
<p>The good, the bad, and the ugly of vassar.</p>
<p>The virtual tour takes away a lot of the scale, and give you a skewed reference for the campus in general. I’d definitely say a visit is more representative of how Vassar really is(duh), but the virtual tour can be fairly informative, and you can always look for more images of the buildings online and such. As for the campus during the winter(there probably won’t be any pictures of that at Vassar’s website) it’s very cold. I live four hours west, and it can be dreadful for a few months. That’s probably something to consider.</p>
<p>Yeah, well the cold is not an issue. We live many parallels north, in mountains. The highest elevations surrounding us are covered with snow without interruption from early November to the end of April but the tough part, frankly, is the dark…having very few hours of daylight and, then, having it cloudy and gray during those precious few hours. Poughkeepsie will represent a big upgrade for S in terms of cheery weather.</p>
<p>I think beyond Internet resources, he’ll need to ask the admission office for some contact points. That informational interview that didn’t happen probably needs to happen now. Thanks again, all, for the follow-up on this!</p>
<p>@kenzie1992: That link is not suitable for parents. Sheesh! How about a warning? :)</p>
<p>Like I said, the good, the bad and the ugly.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m on the waitlist. Can you blame me for wanting to improve my chances? ;)</p>
<p>(also I skimmed the thread and didn’t catch that you were a parent not a student)</p>