<p>I'm a sophomore now and just starting to do visits. I visited three schools in VA over spring break, and that's it. I'm trying (at my mother's advice) to do as many visits earlier rather than later because I know I'll be busy next year and it'll be really hard to fit it in. So my question is, do you really miss a ton by doing visits in the summer? I'm thinking I will, because students won't really be around. The schools I want to visit are UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and Wake Forest if that matters. I also might hit Washington and Lee on the way down.</p>
<p>yeah you will, the point of college visits is to see whether you like the campus and whether you would fit in not to learn more about the college (you can do that on their web page). Visiting over thhe summer would not be beneficial since no students would be around and you can’t observe the student population.</p>
<p>^I disagree. Yes, you will not get the whole experience of visiting while classes are in session, but visiting any time will give you a better idea of what the school is all about and the setting/feel that the school gives you. this can’t be done by visiting a website or reading a book.
No visit <<<<< Visit in summer << Visit during school year.</p>
<p>I agree with you spaceneedle, a visit in the summer to check out the environment is better than no visit at all. However, if the college is in a small town, the lack of students may give you a misleading feel of the actual environment with the students.</p>
<p>Visiting in the summer if better than not visiting at all, but you don’t always get the best idea of a college. If this is the only time you can go, then go but make sure you think about how it would be wth students. I know from my experience that when I visited a college over the summer, I didn’t like it, but when I went back in the spring I loved it. The students are a big part of the impression you get from a school.</p>
<p>^ Agreed 100%. That’s why I prioritized the school I wanted to see the most and made sure I visited those when they were in session. And mind you, these were not all the ‘dream schools.’ I knew I would apply to the dream schools no matter what. I focused more on the schools I wasn’t so sure about, and it helped me a lot.</p>
<p>Visiting the college campus may be helpful, though it’s also offered during your school period.</p>
<p>anyone have a list of schools and then respective summer open-house dates?</p>
<p>Although I want to visit some colleges, my dad won’t let me. He says it is too much money to visit the schools I’m most interested in (Vandy, Pomona, Brown, etc…) because they are so spread out. Does the campus visit really set different schools apart or is it something you can learn by researching the town, adjacent towns, and reading college guides?</p>
<p>And OP, is LHS your school?</p>
<p>If you read “The Princeton Review Best 368 Colleges” and “Fiske Guide To Colleges” profiles of the college, you can get a pretty good feel of what they college may be like. Of course, that by no means replaces a college visit.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Yup, I actually use Fiske’s Guide a lot in my college research. I feel that its information is pretty solid, and besides CC, it’s my only way to learn about schools. Do you know how accurate it is?</p>
<p>The only problem with Fiske’s Guide is that it never changes. It’s had the same exact review for the last few years so I have no idea how accurate it still is. In contrast, The Princeton Review writes a new review every 3 year to capture any possible changes in administrative policies, new student discontentment etc…</p>
<p>B Man 22: the most popular schools have much more information from actual students on U N I G O dot com. (Just remove the spaces between the letters). Not only student reviews but videos and lots of other stuff. Another good site is College P R O W L E R. Again, remove the spaces between the letters. I had to type them this way for obvious reasons. You’re limited to CC and Princeton Review, LOL.</p>
<p>OP, a great time to schedule a summer visit is mid-to-late August, before most high schools get back, but when many colleges are in full swing. Also, that’s one of admissions least busy times.</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^^^</p>
<p>Great suggestion.</p>