<p>We did a spring trip which basically started at Wesleyan and went clockwise to Vassar, Skidmore, Williams, Amherst, and finally ended with Colby, Bates, and Bowdion. It was doable and kinda fun, mostly because the weather was simply fantastic. The trip was exploratory in nature which meant we wanted to get a physical sense of all these schools we’d heard so much about (btw, we also stopped in at Brown, BU, and Tufts!). Conversations after each visit were surprising and insightful, so visiting is good. Sometimes we’d take a tour and sometimes just explore on our own and ask questions to random students. It’s all a bit daunting but if one arms themselves with an attitude of exploration it can be quite productive to come up with one’s own conclusions. In the end I was surprised that my son had one school which whispered to him ‘we’ve got something going on here…join us!’ He had no real idea of what his major would be and entered with one thought but eventually connected with biology. He found his Bowdoin experience incredibly rich and diverse and the biology department and research opportunities exceptional. Along the way, and after graduation, he developed connections and friendships with kids from these other schools whose passions were similar to his own, it’s not that hard to do, so best wishes during your visits and keep an open mind, opportunities will always present themselves :)</p>