I assume we will be doing at least 3 of the top contenders, then hopefully make a decision.
With S18, who did not have a clear top choice, we visited his “final 4” on admitted student day. It definitely made an impact on his final decision.
My D only did one, but I foresee more for my son. He really doesn’t have a clear favorite. We will probably have him pick three 3 based on his preference and our affordability.
I think it depends on what schools acceptances come from. DD has her favorites, including one ED, but if none of those pan out, I see us going to up to 5. We have friends who were set on a specific school, went to accepted student day, and completely changed their minds (both parents and kid, independently). They had to scramble to see what schools still had upcoming dates because they blew off some of their earlier ones. It was stressful for them and I don’t want to fall in that trap!
D went to zero. She had a clear first choice, was accepted, and their admitted student days were when she was on a habitat for humanity mission trip for her spring break. She talked to her advisor who told her she wouldn’t be missing anything as she had already been for an official visit and a summer program.
S19 didn’t have any EA schools but was accepted in RD to Grinnell in their early round. (They let some kids know in Feb.) That was very helpful since he was able to visit in February. He was accepted to six other schools RD and it was very tough for him to figure out what to do. He had visited four of those six during junior year but really felt like he needed to go back to top contenders again. These six included five top-15 LACs and William and Mary and they were all over the country. Since he didn’t have these acceptances all in hand until the end of March, it was very hard to decide what to do as it was expensive and he was still so busy at school and with track. He basically had three weeks to travel back to schools and make a decision.
After taking some time to talk to dig even deeper into these schools via their websites, he decided to go back to two of the schools he had already visited. He went to the first one and fell in love so we cancelled the trip to the second school. Then, it was just a matter of trying to come to terms with being full pay or going to Grinnell with merit. We ultimately decided to let him go to the full price school.
I was a little disappointed that he didn’t go to that second school he wanted to revisit. The trip was already planned and I thought it would be good for him to compare…at least to see if he was sure about his feeling about the first school. Looking back now, though, he just knew. He knew the first school was a really, really good fit and he was right.
I would suggest any student keep their list in some sort of order, even if it’s just in their heads. Once financial aid and acceptances come in, schools will be eliminated or end up higher or lower on the list according to affordability. Go to early admitted student days for EA schools if those are offered. S19 probably applied to too many schools but many of the schools on his list had low acceptance rates and we didn’t know what to expect so he cast a wide net. Doing as much research as you can up front is helpful so you’re able to put schools in order and know where you’ll visit again
I wonder how much it is a dog and pony show. It is my oldest child so i havent been through it before. Her colleges havent set up the dates yet. Based on last year’s dates i have a feeling they will all be middle of April. Tax time.
In any case, i see us going to a few because we have to wait until april for her acceptances.
@silverpurple right. And sometimes the admitted student days for two of your schools are the same days. They overlap. I know there’s always discussion about whether it’s better to go back during admitted student days or visit again on a regular day. S19 really felt admitted student days were important, mostly because he met other kids who could be freshmen with him. Maybe they were a little bit of a dog and pony show but my husband also thought he learned way more about the schools than he did during our regular visits. and, ultimately, it helped him get much more excited about S19’s choice.
My kid did 6 because he was WL at his top 2 choices! Two flew him in for overnights, the others were full days. All at schools he had previously visited. And there was definitely a reshuffling of preferences afterwards.
So yes, they are dog and pony shows. Dog and pony shows with all the resources gathered and ready to talk to you. Lots of current students and faculty. Coaches, clubs, etc. A school should be able to do this well and with enthusiasm. Meeting other prospective students does matter. (Some will already have committed, btw.) You cannot replicate this on a normal shadow day.
DS has run events at Accepted Student weekend at his current school because he felt it was important.
I would try to do these for at least your top 3 affordable choices. It may confirm your ranking or it may shift them. But this is a huge “purchase” and it’s nice to head off in the fall feeling like you did your best to get it right.
My D applied and was accepted to her top choice ED so she only attended that one.
My S went to four accepted student days - two were overnights and two were day visits. One accepted student day also included an interview for a scholarship. These visits were very helpful in clarifying his decision. Yes, the accepted student days were a bit of a “dog and pony” show but he got to spend time with students, we got a lot of information about programs offered by the school etc. All in all they were useful.
Very dependent on how much a student knows about the schools and has considered preferences.
If a student has researched, visited, etc., and is accepted into a clear favorite school, then zero or one should be enough.
If a student has no clear favorites, and/or decided to wait for acceptances to visit, then as many at the top of the list as are economically/logistically possible.
My D had two clear favorites of her seven applications and visited those two after six accepts came in.
We did 2 which were the schools my D was most interested in. One because she needed another look and one because my D had never visited the campus though on paper it seemed to be a good fit. The first school she liked a lot more during the admitted student day and the second she loved and ended up there.