<p>Apologies in advance if this topic has been beaten to death before, but...</p>
<p>I am considering planning a trip from CA to New England for a college tour with D, but am trying to figure out if it's worth it and, if so, when to do it. 5 days, 4 nights with airfare, hotels, car rental, and incidentals adds up to something like $2,000 to $2,500. Willing to spend that once, but not repeatedly, since that money is better spent on the actual tuition rather than traipsing around the country just visiting. So this would be a one shot deal.</p>
<p>Hence the question: if you only have the time and resources to visit a college once, is it better to do so:</p>
<p>a) before applying, so that you don't waste your time and money applying to schools you would never attend anyway? (summer visit)</p>
<p>b) after applying, but before acceptances, to show interest and hopefully get the point across to the admissions and scholarship committees that you are serious about attending if accepted? (late fall, early winter visit)</p>
<p>c) after acceptances/rejections and financial/merit aid offers are in, so that you don't waste time and money visiting schools you are either not accepted to or cannot afford to attend? (spring visit)</p>
<p>Very good question, DGDzDad. I don’t like summer visits, as I feel the don’t give an accurate impression of the campus. Would these schools be publics, privates, or very selective? Some schools keep track on who visits, so visiting before applying can help. Ideally, I’d visit in September, if D is a senior in high school, in case she wanted to apply EA or ED. If she’s a junior, I’d recommend a winter trip, so she could see how cold it gets. I’d watch for good airfares, as most schools can set up a visit wih only a day or two notice and always ask if school is in session. One time we arrived, only to find out the students were on spring break. The campus looked like a ghost town. Priceline saved us a lot of money on hotels during our trips.</p>
<p>You will get varied opinions on this one, but we visited the other region(s) only once and before applications. My kids had about 15 colleges/unis each they were interested in that looked good “on paper.” After visits we had 4 apps for #1, 6 apps for #2, 8 apps for #3 and #3 only had so many because they were evenly divided between small engineering schools and huge universities as he wasn’t entirely certain until the very end. It’s a good way to whittle down what can be a cumbersome list. </p>
<p>For son 1 and 2 we did the visits spring of junior year, for son #3 we did them the end of August when colleges were in session, but high school had not started for him because he plays a spring sport and the scheduling was loser with his fall sport at the end of August for getting “time off” from practices.</p>
<p>We voted for C) after the acceptances and before the final decision was made for far away schools. D did visit nearby schools (within a 2 hour drive) before she decided where to apply to. These close to home visits helped her to decide on size and type of school.</p>
<p>Interest can be shown via email and phone calls. Many (most?) schools will consider distance between home and school when determining if a visit is necessary to show interest. And, a lot of info can be found on websites and through talking with local students at various schools when they are home on break.</p>
<p>I am a proponent of A, with a trip back just to their top one or two choices after acceptance. They may be able to travel alone on the 2nd trip, too, depending on this location (D1 did this). A few colleges even provide airfare vouchers for an accepted trip. D2 got that from 2 colleges, Harvey Mudd and Kenyon – and she had visited both before applying. You can still get a lot of out summer visits, I think. There are often students on campus doing research in the summer even if classes are not in session, and they try to show you that on the tours. </p>
<p>That said, spring break is a VERY good time to do this if you can. Most schools will be in session (you might hit one or two on spring break, but go anyway). There is a reason why so many juniors do college tours during spring break…</p>
<p>It is also expensive to wait until you have heard back from everyplace before visiting. You then are rushing around in one month, since many colleges notify at the end of April. Airfare is more expensive because you are purchasing on short notice. Many kids end up chucking colleges off their list because they just can’t get to them logistically in that April timeframe – and they are colleges that might be a great fit for them.</p>
<p>My philosophy is that you may think visits are expensive, but making a wrong choice is much more expensive in the long run. Both psychologically and financially, since merit aid for transfer students is not common – so you lose your one shot at it if you make a wrong choice. I know my kid needed two visits to her top 3 choices to pick, and actually ended up picking the one that was 3rd on her list going in… and I think she actually dodged TWO bullets by not picking the colleges she was initially attracted to; both had serious warts that showed up only by attending accepted student days. Some kids absolutely do not have the financial resources for visits, and that is just the way it is. But if you can pay for it, you really should – you won’t be sorry.</p>
<p>But one more comment – be selective about where you choose to go for the “A” visits to start with. Study a copy of Fiske, have your kid spend time with the Book of Majors from the College Board if they are unsure of their major, and read up out here before picking schools to visit. Don’t just visit based on name & ranking. And be sure to visit some match & safety schools, as it is harder to find ones your kid will like than reaches.</p>
<p>We did our trips for each of our boys spring of junior year/early fall of senior year because we wanted to see the schools when students were on campus.</p>
<p>To help with expenses, we have concentrated all of our spending on one credit card to build up those points…nothing was too small to charge (and pay off in full). We used points/hotel nights from one trip to help with the other.</p>
<p>We felt these trips helped cull the application list and also helped establish demonstrated interest at those schools where it mattered. Each boy would establish an email relationship with whatever adcoms he could at schools we were visiting, and made sure to schedule appointments/interviews as well. He also made a point of asking the adcom to help him set up departmental/professor meetings or class attendance–a way of demonstrating serious and mature interest, and of course something he wanted to do in any event. But this way the admissions people knew about it.</p>
<p>The additional reason we did these trips when we did is it helped each of our sons create a better and stronger application, more individualized and tailored to each school. Each of the boys were very successful with their applications.</p>
<p>I think the answer is different for each family. </p>
<p>We are also in the SF Bay area, and my daughter traveled on her own to visit east coast colleges during the fall of her senior year. So the cost was far less – she stayed overnight with friends, so no hotel. Public transit, so no rental car fees. She was only interested in school in or near major urban hubs (Boston, NYC, DC) - so the transit issue was not a problem. </p>
<p>My d. also visited her top two choices, both in NYC, after acceptance - also on her own. (In the end she really was one of those NY-or-bust type of kids). </p>
<p>I do think that there was some advantage to having her parents stay out of the picture. I think it just gave her a better sense of whether she would be happy on her own at a particular college. </p>
<p>So just one more possibility to consider. I realize that many kids would not be comfortable traveling on their own, and that it’s much harder if your d. wants to visit colleges in more rural or isolated locations. </p>
<p>If you decide to visit early on, I would encourage you to include women’s colleges even if your d. prefers a co-ed school. They present a wonderful opportunity. (My d. is a Barnard grad )</p>
<p>I don’t like summer visits because campuses can seem empty and lifeless even if summer school is in session. </p>
<p>I would show interest with phone calls and emails. </p>
<p>Since I know from your previous threads that money is an issue, I wouldn’t waste money on schools that either don’t accept or are unaffordable. You have a VERY high income, but due to past circumstances, you can’t afford even close to your EFC. </p>
<p>For the above reason, I would be hesitant to do A or B because your D may get her heart set on unaffordable schools.</p>
<p>I would also recommend spring of junior year or fall of senior year. It won’t be too cold to walk around. October is good, as it usually is not too cold yet. Also, school will be in session, so you can get a good idea of the student body/general atmosphere. In addition, as you mentioned, you can express interest in person. So I would say B.</p>
<p>I really don’t think you can get the full “feel” of most schools during the summer. If visiting in summer is your only option, then it’s better than not visiting at all. However, given the chance to visit while everything is in full swing would be preferable to me.</p>
<p>We visited quite a few schools using scenario “A”. This was a good way to weed out schools. Interestingly enough for both kids they ended up attending (or in the younger’s case will attend) schools that we only visited after acceptance (scenario C).</p>
<p>We did summer visits and visits when the schools were in session. I know I am an outlier, but it really didn’t make a difference to my kids. They got their sense of the kids from those who spoke at the information sessions.</p>
<p>Then I had them read catalogues from each school they were considering. Each school imagines its pedagogy in a slightly different way. We found out school X was more formal than school Y, or school Z stressed contemporary culture while school K cared more about the classical canon.</p>
<p>We had limited the apply list to ten, and these early visits were essential to whittle down a very unwieldy list.</p>
<p>In the end, no repeat visits were needed because each was accepted into his/her number one school. </p>
<p>One very attractive school was half the country away, and we never made it there. It was really a contender, but I asked my son to be honest if he would really consider choosing it over his number one pick, and he had to admit that he wouldn’t, so we saved that money.</p>
<p>As other posters have said, there is not one right answer for everyone, but there is something to be said for making the trip when no school work is due.</p>
<p>As somewhat expected, the answers are all over the map on this one, which is exactly where my brain is. I’ve received similarly diverse answers from other parents I’ve spoken to. However, since I am trying to focus on schools where D would be highly qualified in relation to the average admittance stats in the hope of getting merit aid that would make it affordable, my thinking is that it might be a good investment to visit early to rule out schools that she would never attend (those application fees add up, and the cost savings offset the travel expenses), to get her excited about some schools that are near the bottom of her list or not on her list at all at this point, and maybe show enough serious interest that the scholarship committees take note. I don’t really know how these committees make their decisions. But if showing really strong interest by visiting in person can generate a merit award of $2x rather than $1x, then the cost of the trip will be paid for many times over, especially over 4 years. And I’m certainly not going to send her to a school sight unseen, so if she really wants to go to college back east, the expense of a trip is inevitable… it’s just a matter of when.</p>
<p>p.s. D is a rising senior. We did make one trip to DC in early May because I had to be there on business anyway and was able to write off my expenses. The only real extra cost was D’s airfare. If only I could find a business reason to be in Boston this summer or fall…</p>
<p>I agree with IntParent, research EVERYTHING about a school prior to creating your itinerary, including affordability based on yur circumstances and not the NPC, ease of getting to and from campus during breaks, core requirements or lack there of, majors of interest, research opportunities, senior projects/thesis, graduation rates within 4 years, fit, campus vibe, TAs instructing courses, ECs, meal plans, transportation options, and access to community near school for making purchases, and etc,. For example finding schools with decent vegan meal options is non-negotiable for my daughter.</p>
New England would NOT be your best bet in a quest for merit aid. Look further south and to the midwest. Talk to your d. about the qualities she is looking for in a school, and maybe visit some different types of schools locally to get a sense of what she might view positively, and what she might view negatively. </p>
<p>The choice your daughter makes after a campus visit will tend to be poorly informed, based on a gut level impression. Fine when you are just narrowing down your list, but definitely not the way to go in a quest for merit aid. You should be focusing on budget with your d. – you are willing to pay X, she will need merit aid to make up the difference - -and then staying home and using the internet to research merit possibilities. </p>
<p>Do NOT limit the college search to one geographic area. The information your daughter will receive post-admission, with an offer of merit aid in hand, will be very different than the impression she will get while visiting as a prospie. If she qualifies for high-end aid (such as a full tuition scholarship or full ride) - she may be asked to visit the college for an interview. Even for more moderate levels of aid, she may receive information about special programs the college offers to its merit students, at the time she receives the merit offer. </p>
<p>I think you would be cutting off potential opportunities to fall into the trap of thinking that there are colleges your daughter would be unwilling to attend, based on a single campus visit. Yes, there are reasons why your d. might indeed be unwilling to attend a college where there is high likelihood of aid, but those reasons should be apparent from information you can easily get online.</p>
<p>S1 didn’t enjoy visits, and he knew what he wanted academically, so he waited to visit after he got in to compare programs and feel when it was down to a managable number and the choice was real. S2 wasn’t sure what he was looking for at first academically and wanted to be sure that his instincts about size, location (rural, urban, suburban) and feel (preppy, hipster etc) were right. He also found it much, much easier to write essays targeted for the colleges if he’d visited them. Older son’s college essays were all exactly the same - even the why ___ college was only about the comp sci departments.</p>
<p>DGDzDad, in your shoes, I might concentrate on visits to safeties now - they are more likely to provide merit aid and it’s really, really nice if your child finds one they really like.</p>
Actually, “showing really strong interest” can work against you in the quest for merit aid. Colleges use merit aid to attract strong candidates who would not otherwise attend – if they think they’ve got you hooked already, they will offer less. Look up articles on the internet about “enrollment management” – colleges hire consultants to help them figure out the sweet spot of the least amount of money they need to offer to entice particular types of students. </p>
<p>Your d. wants to look interested enough that she is taken seriously, but also give the impression that she is quite willing to walk away if she has a better offer from a different college. An early visit might be counter-productive – a series of emails to the admissions department with very specific questions about course offerings and majors might be much more effective. (She wants to look like a serious, critical shopper.)</p>
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<p>If getting substantial merit aid is important to you, then it makes sense for her to visit AFTER the aid offer is in hand. Otherwise you are wasting $$ visiting schools that are unaffordable, while potentially closing the door to colleges that might be very generous, but for the fact that your daughter never visited so doesn’t bother to apply.</p>
<p>My son’s experience was exactly the opposite. He received two merit scholarships after interviews at the schools (all costs for him paid for by the colleges), but he had only seen the schools briefly in previous trips for auditions (and had not seriously demonstrated any interest in either). One moved way up in his opinion and the other way down after the interviews. His third scholarship was from a school where he had not proof-read one of his essays (containing a joke for his mother), had blown off the interviewer who wanted to set up an interview, and was late in submitting his application. Each of these scholarships was for about one-half tuition, so not insignificant.</p>
<p>My son visited colleges in the east during the summer before senior year, before applying. He was able to eliminate several schools based on those visits.</p>
<p>He visited several schools on the other coast after he had applied, and wouldn’t have applied to one of them had he visited early.</p>
<p>Our daughter visited all of her schools except for one, before applying. The one she didn’t visit gave her the best merit aid, so she visited during one of the accepted student days and ended up going there.</p>
<p>It’s really hard to figure out when to visit. We were confident that our son would get good results at all the schools he applied to, so visiting was really to weed out places that didn’t look as good in real life. Not so for our daughter, so it might have made sense (financially) to wait until acceptances came in to visit. She wasn’t really motivated to look for schools so I was hoping that visiting would help in that regard.</p>
<p>We did a mix of all three, but none of the visits were to impress admissions officers. It was just a matter of our scheduling and the evolution of DS’s decision making process. </p>
<p>We found summer visits helpful (and cheap - combined with visiting the relatives). But some of those school had 2nd visits senior year. We did spend a lot on travels, but some was combo with vacation and the rest was preresearch oon our investment. DS had stats that could get him big merit awards at some schools, so we wanted to weight all options carefully. </p>
<p>It does makes sense to do early “sampler” trips close to home. That helps refine the various factors (big/small, city/rural, etc).</p>