<p>Hi, I am junior just starting out on researching schools plan the visits, but the process is a bit overwhelming. I thought it would be a good idea to hear the opinions of parents who have been in this situation, so thank you in advance. I am not sure when the best time to see the colleges. I was thinking late August a few days after the start of the fall semester, but is that too soon in order to obtain a good sense of the school and students? It is very important to me that I see the school in session, but would it make more sense to miss a day or two every month to visit a college?</p>
<p>Since my daughter lived 5,000 miles away from the colleges she was interested in, we spent the last part of July and most of August touring colleges in Boston, New York and D.C. She spent a week in a pre-college summer program which gave her a good sense of college life. I think you can get a sense of the school and its students from the tours themselves. Students usually volunteer to lead the tours and my daughter got a good sense of what the school was all about from just those tours.</p>
<p>Be careful with the summer tours (or Winter Break tours). There will not be any students on campus. You can get the fundamentals from the summer tours, but not the vibe from the students.</p>
<p>If possible, try to do some tours this Spring Break - check the college schedules because they are usually on a different break schedule than your high school.</p>
<p>In our family, we did most of our college trips during the junior year. By August, they were already working on applications because they submitted them early, so it was imperative that they had a good sense of where they wanted to apply by the end of their junior year.</p>
<p>With that in mind, I would suggest making a plan as soon as possible. Good luck! This is a fun time.</p>
<p>I agree with trying to get some done over your spring break this school year. Or if you have a day off school occasionally for something like Good Friday (MLK day & President’s day would have also been good opportunities).</p>
<p>You may start out with schools that are closer to you that you may be a little familiar with. That way you can get an idea about what the day will be like - information session, tours, lunch, etc. And you will learn what you are looking for in a college and what questions you want answered with practice.</p>
<p>We went on some summer tours. It depends on the campus. Some campuses have fairly busy summers relative to others.</p>
<p>Our favorite time was on a regular school day when the temperature was nice. I liked to do the tour on a Monday or a Friday so that we could stay overnight in the area, check out the local scene and the town, maybe catch a play or a concert on campus on a weekend day and spend a full day at the college on the weekday. Call in advance. Most admissions offices can set you up pretty nicely for a full day. Come with a list of questions and specific things you want to check on. For instance, you might want to talk to someone in honors, someone in your first choice major, someone in a particular on-campus organization. </p>
<p>I don’t think a few days after class starts is a bad time. At least not for the campuses I’ve seen. Actually it might be a really GOOD time, because that’s usually Freshman Welcome Week, where all of the organizations are trying to get new members - so it’s kind of a busy time actually.</p>
<p>Check the prospective college’s schedule carefully. My D’s college is out on MLK Day and Good Friday, so there’s not a lot of on-campus activity when that’s the case.</p>
<p>One thing my D2 always enjoyed doing (music major) - was sitting in on (observing) a rehearsal. D3 got a tour of the engineering laboratory facilities where they told her what each piece of equipment did.</p>
<p>My D visited 4 large state flagships. One was in-state and two were in bordering states and those three were within a 4 hour drive of our home. The fourth was about 12 hours away and she flew to that one. She did all of her visits during junior year and scheduled them for days her high school was off but the college she was visiting had classes (Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, MLK Day and President’s Day). She did 4 separate trips. If she had been interested in a number of schools that were far away and needed to be done in one trip, we probably would have planned junior year spring break around college visits. One visit was enough for her - she didn’t feel she needed to re-visit any of her schools senior year in order to make her decision. FWIW, she ended up at the school that was 12 hours away.</p>
<p>Visit over your spring break, if possible. If it’s too soon to plan a distance trip, then do a nearby trip where u sample different types if schools: large public, small LAC, medium private research uni, urban, suburban, rural, large, med, small. Then u will get a sense of what you may like in a school. Then tailor your summer trip based on the results of this first trip.</p>
<p>We did all of our college tours in the spring of junior year. Summer was not an option for us because of all of our work schedules, plus we liked the idea of being there while students were there.
We also visited schools for open houses or accepted student weekends to get a little more info.
Next year , we get to do it all again after a long break !</p>
<p>I agree with Spring tours first if you can. Summer if you can’t as schools often have summer sessions so some students will be around.</p>
<p>Another thing is to check the Academic Calendar of schools you are interested in as some start early before you go back to HS. My H and S visited 2 schools during that week before he returned to HS senior year.</p>
<p>Lastly, many schools have open houses planned for Sept and Oct. That last chance on their part to woo you. We got a couple of visits in then as well. </p>
<p>Some even offer an overnite opportunity if you have one you really are interested in.</p>
<p>DD went on an organized tour spring break of her sophomore year. As a result of that tour, she decided that she did not want to attend a huge university.</p>
<p>We visited three schools during Thanksgiving week of junior year. Monday was fine, but by Tuesday afternoon, students were clearing out.</p>
<p>We visited nearby schools on days when she had no class. Those tours of public schools did not allow her to visit classes. Students try not to schedule classes on Fridays, so we didn’t see a lot of students.</p>
<p>Our big tour was during spring break of junior year. We only saw one school per day (four altogether) because each was about a three or four hour drive from the other. These were all LACs. We took the tour, she attended a class or two, and she observed a choir rehearsal because she enjoys choir as an EC. She also talked to other students and asked them about their music tastes among other things. These tours halfway across the country was all about finding the best match for her and uncovering the intangibles that don’t always come through on a web site. </p>
<p>Some students do not visit a school until Admitted Students Day. This is another philosophy. On our trip, DD learned that she wanted/needed to be near a large city, and we learned that location descriptors in the big guidebooks can be misleading. Stuff that mattered to her may not matter to you.</p>
<p>As other posters have suggested, NOW is the time to go. Summer at small colleges means empty campuses besides which, you should be spending fall working on applications, not doing first visits. Get out your map, find a willing parent and hit the road!</p>
<p>Cromette, we actually did the opposite re: weather. We tried to pick a time when the weather was least “pleasing” figuring if the kid liked it then, he/she would probably always like it. So…for the New England schools, we toured in the winter. Kids need to know that there is a LOT of winter here. For the southern schools, we went in the summer. We figured if our kids liked the heat then, they would love it the rest of the year.</p>
<p>As it happened, one of our kids went to a college where the weather is nice year round. We couldn’t find a bad weather day!</p>
<p>We did tours both during the school terms and during summer. Our kids applied to schools from both tour types. It didn’t seem toaster to them whether the college was in session…or not.</p>
<p>To the OP–just so you know there are many ways to skin this cat. DS1 did a few visits his junior year. DS2 did his first visits late August of senior year, when the colleges were in session but his hs had not yet started. DS3 didn’t do a single visit until this past January, and he’s a senior. We decided to wait until he found out where he’d been accepted. Do what works with your schedule and interest level. For my kids it was important to get a look at the student body, so we never visited when the college was not in session.</p>
<p>For parents that went in late August when the colleges were in session, did you or your children felt that the campus was different as opposed to visiting during the spring. I am planning to see three schools over spring break, but see the majority of the schools in late August. Also, any tips for the visits? I tried to research the topic, but I usually get the same advice.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a problem to visit in the winter. We visited Bard and Vassar on the same day and you better believe that the way they dealt with snow removal played into the decision. OTOH S2 decided not to visit U of Chicago in the winter because he was most dubious about it, so wanted to see it at it’s best. He didn’t see it till Accepted Students weekend, and it was gorgeous! </p>
<p>As to the OP if your spring break doesn’t match up with college spring breaks that’s really the best time to go. We did some late August visits - they were fine too, but at least at one college they hadn’t yet set up tours. (Otherwise campus life seemed in full swing, and it ended up being one of my son’s favorite colleges.)</p>
<p>If the timing doesn’t work to see all of the schools before you apply - especially if they are large state universities, that’s ok, as demonstrating interest, for larger schools is probably not so important. But WHEN you apply can be very important. Apply late summer/very early(Sept). My DD received a response in Oct, Nov, Dec and each month after that. We knew merit aid very early, and whether she was admitted to her major. One or two favorites moved from the bottom of the list to the top. It was sooo nice for her to tour campus knowing, I’m already accepted, I can go here if I want. The campus looks very different through the eyes of an accepted student. Very empowering.</p>
<p>I visited some schools in late August/early Sept with both my son and daughter, when college was in session but HS wasn’t. I didn’t think it was problematic that is was very early in the college school year, since the students were on campus. I didn’t notice any real differences from visiting during March. </p>
<p>On the other hand, visiting in July and early August when school was NOT in session was very different.</p>