With twins in 10th grade it’s a bit early for actual college visits, but thought I’d plan to pass by/pit stop these colleges that just happen to be on our way/destinations for Spring Break end of this month - two key stops are Chattanooga, TN and Atlanta, GA. Having twins, I’ve focused more on VA in-state schools…but would like my kids to have option of OOS schools (especially since I’ve heard about ways to get in-state tuition by joining ANG or Reserves) should they so desire…so here’s our itinerary…
Drive South to Chattanooga TN (down Route 81)…bypass JMU (only becuase I’m an almni and we’ve been there several times already!). Planned pit stops/quick visits…any thoughts opinions???
Virginia Tech (for my son who wants CS/IS/Cybersecurity degree)
Radford University (for my daughter who is liberal arts/interested in Early Childhood Ed -- Radford offers 4+1 for Masters)
Univ. of TN - Chattanooga (for either kid)
Georgia Tech (although not sure my son could get in)
Georgia State
if we have time....University of Georgia in Athens, GA
We did a couple visits spring of 10th grade. I don’t think it hurt, but it is a long time before apps were due, so those were a bit hazy for my kid by fall of senior year. Also, you don’t have test scores. But my kid was able to see a highly ranked school she thought she would like, but did not like on visiting (so could take off list), and a school that could have been a safety if her scores had ended up lower than they did (but she ended up with extremely high scores, so could reliably expect admission & merit at some higher ranked schools).
Those 10th grade visits can help sharpen their focus. College becomes a more real thing.
intparent…thanks! We do have their PSAT scores and know what their current GPA is…I can honestly say that it’s highly unlikely we will see any merit scholarships…but just because their chances are not as high at some schools doesn’t mean they can’t apply if they want to…it’s also on the table the idea of CC first to get AA/AS and then transfer to complete 4 yr…so this is more of an “exposure”…my kids will get exposed to some OOS schools.
We are very experience at college tours. I think it’s a great idea to visit schools while traveling. It can be an efficient way to see schools that might otherwise be difficult/expensive to visit later.
I’d just caution, if this is your first round with college visits, that a college trip with six schools is a significant endeavor in and of itself. I think if you go beyond 2-3 schools it will seem like it is a college tour, not a spring break trip. That’s fine if that is the expectation, but the kids might start to get anxious to get to the destination after a couple of schools.
The only thing I’d add is that Georgia Tech has become significantly more competitive over the last 5-10 years. It is among a handful of tip-top public universities, like Michigan, UVA, UNC, Wisconsin, etc. that allow EA applications. So students with top stats will often apply ED to their top choice (usually Ivy-type schools) and then apply EA to several/all these schools so that they hopefully have a top-flight acceptance after the early round. As a result, applications have absolutely ballooned at these schools. Here’s a link–and note there is info on Transfer Pathways.
TTG - thanks! These will be very casual…pit stops and we may skip if time does not allow. They are not intended to be “campus tours” in the official sense. Va. Tech/Radford just happen to be about the half-way point between home (NOVA) and Chattanooga, TN…hence the quick pit-stop/drive thru planned visits ;-). We are in Chattanooga, TN for a few days and our hotel is literally around the corner from the campus…not visiting while there would be impossible. Same with Atlanta…our hotel is is literally around the corner from the campus of GSU. We’ll likely skip GTech…I know how difficult it has become…and UGA but my husband has fond memories of his time in Athens so might end up driving thru on way back home. Our plans are flexible and I’m not even talking to the kids about visiting these campuses…just plan on “roaming” the campuses on our own.
I think it’s a great idea to get a look at a few different type of colleges. Private, state, big and small. I don’t feel 10th grade is too young to start looking. We did just that. We would be driving on the interstate and say lets drive by this college. We eliminated a bunch that way. If you have time, stop by the admission office for a map and sometimes they give little goodies. You can just do your own tour.
Unless you have no financial constraints, you might want to run the net price calculator on each school website before deciding to visit. No point in visiting any that are unaffordable. I think you want to be careful about assuming they could wrangle in state tuition. Most states make that fairly difficult if the parents don’t live in state and the kid is just going there for education reasons.
intparent…we have a neighbor whose son-in-law is in the National Guard…several OOS universities offer in-state/partial/full tuition for being in NG or ANG. Not sure about this option being a good fit, but at least it’s an option. Other option under consideration is CC for 2 yrs then transfer OOS if wanted to. I’m learning not to totally discount OOS. Mainly want to tell my kids…“hey, if you really fall in love with an OOS school there are options”…this is mainly for my son…my daughter doesn’t want to go far from home…at least now she doesn’t…that might change by senior year
Why not visit Sewanee while you’re in Chattanooga? The tours are well organized and the campus is beautiful, like Oxford in the mountains. You could take one of their hikes after the tour; they have loaner boots at the visitor center. It would make a nice field trip.
I took both of my children when they were sophomores and they really enjoyed the visit. It’s in the top three now for my class of 2021 son. Sewanee is fairly generous with merit aid as well.
