<p>DS and I are going to visit schools over his spring break. We will hit Alabama up first a few days before DS's Spring Break since Alabama's spring break is the same week. Then it's up to Worcester Poly Tech, then off to RIT.</p>
<p>I would like for him to have the opportunity to spend the night at each school, if those schools allow for that. So, I was wondering how far in advance most folks call to make these arrangements. </p>
<p>Also, does anyone have any experience doing overnights at any of these schools?</p>
<p>What year is your S? WPI has official, school run overnight visits for seniors, which generally coincide with the open houses. I am not sure if they have them for juniors. My D attended one when she was a senior, and has been a host for 2 fall open houses, and plans to host in February. They also have admitted students days in April, which have overnight visits/</p>
<p>If the overnight is not part of athletic recruitment or a school sponsored event, I would suggest that you arrange for it now.</p>
<p>Thanks gsmomma. We live in the midwest, so traveling to the schools may be a one shot deal since money and convenience is a factor. We’d like to see them now before applications go in since RIT has an ED application option we’d like to take advantage of if DS likes the school enough. He is currently a junior.</p>
<p>Is your D at WPI? Do they allow for overnight visits outside of the open house times?</p>
<p>Hi, Momom2, I don’t know anything about the schools you’ll visit, but just so you don’t get too frustrated if they say “no,” be aware that colleges generally reserve overnights for seniors, and in the spring, they are very focused on accommodating admitted students first to help them make their final college decision and pending applicants second. It takes a bit of doing for colleges to arrange overnight visit support.</p>
<p>Does your son know any HS alums now enrolled at any of those schools? If yes, connecting with them is a way to arrange your own overnight if the college is unable to offer it. If he’s not sure on that score, ask your GC. Whether the overnight part plays out, it is still valuable to get feedback about that college from someone who attended your HS.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already, I suggest you review the “visit us” portion of each school’s admission website before you call. It will help you understand how they support visits–generally via campus tour and info sessions. They may ask you to pre-register or not. They may offer special interest tours/talks. They may invite you to visit a class (and if not and you’re interested, just ask–that’s relatively easy to arrange, in my experience, and both of mine felt going to a class was a far better evaluative tool than the tour and info session–YMMV).</p>
<p>Have a great trip! It will be a memorable one for your family.</p>
<p>I think every school I’ve visited with my kids had on-line reservations for tours/info sessions/. . . . They will also likely ask you as part of the registration process what year in high school your kid is, and will either have overnights available or not (and I agree it’d be unusual for a hs junior to do an overnight). I don’t remember calling any of the schools.</p>
<p>Visiting class and talking to current students in the student center cafeterias are 2 additional insightful activities for your son to consider. My daughter was a bit hesistant the first time she tried this but, now it’s almost a natural thing she wants to do when we visit. So far most students have been extremely helpful and willing to share information with her. We advised her to ask an open ended question and then see if the kids had time,energy and interest in conversation. You can also contact a professor to set up a meeting to get an overview. So far we are 2 for 2 when I’ve done a direct call to a professor:) Additionally, look to see on the “visit us” school web pages if there are dept/engineering information sessions or tours. These are separate from the general information sessions and campus tours. Good luck with your visits!</p>
<p>I am in the process of making logistical arrangements for my son’s spring break visits now. As we have to buy plane tickets, I think now is the right time to do it.</p>
<p>Something to remember, your child may not even like these schools and not even want to spend the night. I don’t think I’d plan the overnights right off the bat. RIT was high on my son’s list, he did not like the school or the tour at all. Staying over would have been torture for him. Obviously tons of kids love RIT, I’m just saying you never know.</p>
<p>^I agree with eyemom regarding overnights. There were a few schools that D1 visited that she absolutely hated as soon as we stepped on campus. If she was scheduled for an overnight, it would have been very difficult for her to cancel, or even worse to make her stay.</p>
<p>momom2: I thought I would just mention another school if it’s not too late and if you had not considered it. If you are driving between RIT and WPI, you will pass very close to another engineering school, RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It’s in Troy NY. It’s got a very respectable and solid academic program and a nice campus. All of the alums I know of have wonderful memories from there and exciting careers.</p>
<p>My son wouldn’t even have lunch with a student at GW! (But it was easy enough to cancel.) If you are going on anything that’s likely to coincide with common school breaks you should make reservations at least 3 weeks in advance - we found ourselves shut out of tours on line, though we always ended up being accommodated when we arrived.</p>
<p>Alright, guess I’ll get on the phone and see what I can drum up! Thanks for the advice. I won’t be too disappointed now if we can’t get an overnight stay.</p>
<p>Eyemamom - We visited RIT on the way to camp in Canada last summer. Despite the fact that our tour was during a torrential downpour, DS liked it a lot. But we had to run to another school and didn’t really have time for a dorm tour or to talk with students.</p>
<p>Livn487 - Thanks for the suggestion. RPI, I know, is a great school. Unfortunately, they are not on the tuition exchange list with my school. RIT and WPI are.</p>
<p>Hey, OP. Another option is to find a kid on your own and have him do an overnight that way. Maybe someone from his HS already is there?</p>
<p>Like you, we’re doing a one-time-only flight to look at a couple of colleges, and I’ve arranged for ds2 to meet up with one of ds1’s good friends.</p>