<p>How/when can we manage to visit most of the LACs on my son's interest list, when they are so spread out, and my S is taking lots of tough classes, so he can't afford to miss much school? Obviously it would be best to visit when the colleges are in session, to be able to get a sense of the student population and professors, but... Any suggestions? Is there any point in going in the summer, when school is not in session?</p>
<p>I am in a similar situation when it comes to geography and classes. My parents basically said “Apply where you want, and we will visit where you get in.” Seems fair, as I know more or less what I want, and I don’t have to miss that much class first semester nor do we spend too much money.</p>
<p>My D applied to a lot of LACs and we visited a LOT of schools. She ended up attending the ONE school we didn’t visit until after she was accepted!
That said, my only advice is that the summer is a virtually worthless time to visit, it’s almost better not to visit at all and wait until you’re accepted than visit in the summer. On the other hand, I do think it’s very worthwhile to at least visit one example of the kind of school you’re applying to. In other words if you’re thinking of Colgate, it’s better to have seen Middlebury than Tufts. I have to say, the whole process of visiting a lot of schools that are spread out is quite challenging, but it can be done.</p>
<p>You can see a lot of colleges in the immediate Boston area without driving more than an hour in any direction. Here is just a small sampling: Boston College, Tufts, Holy Cross, Boston University, Providence College, Brown, Harvard, Northeastern.</p>
<p>supportive, I wouldn’t dismiss the effectiveness of summer visits. The admissions organizations are in high gear in the summer, with regularly scheduled programs – tours, information sessions, interviews. Most (all?)colleges include students or recent alums in the process so you do get to have conversations with peers. Also it’s a good opportunity to make a connection with a student or an adcom member with whom the applicant can communicate in the ensuing months.</p>
<p>Another advantage to summer visits is that you’re not so rushed and you can take the time to soak up the campus environment and investigate the surrounding community. Sure, it’s not the same as when the school is is full-swing but all the campuses that we visited in June and July still had a good deal of academic activity in progress. </p>
<p>When the acceptances come in (or just before ED choice time if he’s going that route) he could always make a focused visit to his top two.</p>
<p>Also, New England is proundly beautiful in Summer so it’s a nice area for some family downtime together and a relaxed opportunity to talk about the various schools that you’ve visited. There’s a good deal of art related activity in the Summer Berkshires – music at Tanglewood, art and theater in Williamstown, Dance at Jacob’s Pillow – so you can get a good idea of the sophistication of the area.</p>
<p>Because of our geographic location our son had to visit all schools in the summer and there was NO chance of returning after the acceptances were received, so we tried to spend a full day and one night on each campus of interest. There were plenty of surprises: number one fell off the chart and his eventual ED choice was a last minute add. As it turned out his initial assessment and his experience were identical.</p>
<p>I like momrath’s suggestion–try Summer visits. There’s no place more beautiful than Maine in the Summer and you can hit three great schools–Bowdoin, Colby, Bates pretty easily. Then it’s only 100 miles from Portland to Boston to begin picking off the Mass/RI schools mentioned above.</p>
<p>Any suggestions on a route to visit the middle west colleges? We’re interested in Macalester, Oberlin, UChicago, Kenyon, and possibly others in that vein.</p>
<p>Summer is OK for an initial visit. But if your kid feels it’s important to really have a feel for the school then a visit while school is in session is pretty important. (Note - Some kids go to colleges having NEVER visited and do just fine.)</p>
<p>All I can say about the midwest trip is that Oberlin and Kenyon are easy to do together – but I wouldn’t miss Denison which is close to Kenyon.</p>
<p>We did a summer tour and son found it worthwhile. When we were done he didn’t have any difficulty choosing which schools he wanted to apply to. He then revisited those he was most interested in - two before he was accepted and one in the spring after he was accepted.</p>
<p>It’s no substitute for a real visit, but try the videos at collegiatechoice.com
They pretty much video the campus tour, while asking the questions we would ask. </p>
<p>To get a feel for the students, see if the college newspaper is online. Or check for groups on Facebook, Livejournal, etc.</p>
<p>Many universities have summer classes, so classroom visits and conversation with a current student (two of the most important parts of a visit, IMO) can be accomplished in summer. The vibrancy of a spring or fall term, when the campus is in full swing, won’t be matched, but if a student likes what he sees during summer, he has enough information to apply. A second visit in April should make the decision easier.</p>
<p>Also, don’t overlook three day weekends and spring break of junior year. Most colleges have classes on minor holidays (President’s Day, et al) but the information sessions and tours are packed. If you do pick a holiday, be sure to make a reservation in advance if the school allows it.</p>
<p>Check the school calendars before you plan your trip. For example, the midwest swing from Minnesota to Ohio can be done either west to east or east to west, depending on the school sessions. Chicago makes a good connection city for air travel in the region. Start by visiting Southwest Airlines website; they have one way fares and fly from Midway Airport, which is the closest to the U of Chicago.</p>
<p>^ Universities are busy in the summer, but LACs are pretty dead.</p>
<p>Alum who led the info. session at Middlebury kept stressing the fact that he had come east from CA to Middlebury with the school sight unseen. He was thrilled with the school.</p>
<p>My S did not like the VT schpiel about no billboards, etc. He felt the guy had been “drinking the coolade” too long. However, that doesn’t change the basic idea that if you do your research well a visit is not absolutely essential.</p>
<p>However, although it’s unpredictable, many schools do want you to show them the love by visiting. It’s hard to know which ones though.</p>
<p>We made mostly summer visits. The visits we made when the schools were in session did not differ too much because neither D nor S wanted to sit in on classes or talk to students.</p>
<p>That said, they were spot on in their choices and could tell almost everything about them from the minute they stepped on campus. Don’t ask me how. Psychic ability?</p>
<p>We visited 20 small quirky LACs all around the country. During Feb break we visites NE schools: Bates, Bard, Hampshire, Sarah Lawrence, Vassar and Wesleyan. April break, we toured The Great Midwest: Antioch, Beloit, Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester and Oberlin. In two summer trips, we went to Goucher, Haverford and St. John’s (Annapolis) and then Evergreen State, Lewis & Clark, Pomona and Reed. Skidmore is local, so we saw it in a day trip.</p>
<p>Summer visits aren’t as good, but they told my son enough that he knew where he wanted to apply. After he got his acceptances, we re-visited 6 and he made his final choice. He probably would have been fine at any of these schools. The one he chose, though, is a GREAT fit for him. </p>
<p>We were able to treat these trips as family vacations and fit in visits to interesting museums and tastes of regional cuisines as well as visits with friends and relatives. We went way overboard, but it worked for us and was fun. You can do a great college search with much less running around, but I’d say read the guides, not just the websites–you’ll get a better flavor for the students.</p>
<p>mythmom</p>
<p>Haha. We don’t drink Kool-Ade here, only unpasteurized cider.</p>
<p>OP</p>
<p>pm me if you want more info about our visits.</p>
<p>The year before D1 applied to colleges, we used a whole school vacation week for a college-hunting trip to the east coast. Her midwest high school was on a different schedule than most of the east coast colleges, fortunately. At least for this one vacation week.</p>
<p>We hit about 4 schools in New England, then about four in NYC vicinity and then four around Philly.</p>
<p>On a separate trip D1 drove with her mom to visit some Midwest schools that were about 8 hours away. </p>
<p>In addition, D1 flew out by herself to a few other schools; one in California and one in Ohio. What can I say, she was a precocious kid.</p>
<p>It was a lot easier for D2; by that time we were living on the east coast, and she wanted to stay local. We took a few 2 hour drives, is all. She took a couple days off from school.</p>
<p>Visits were critical to D1s decision. D2 had it all figured out, but visit was still instrumental.</p>