<p>I live in the northeast and am looking to apply to colleges in VA, TN, LA and DC, which makes college visits very difficult for me.</p>
<p>My question is, do colleges consider college visits in the admission process? I've heard that colleges like to see interest and commitment in their applicants, and that a lack of visit could hurt my chances. Is this true?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Most schools understand that applicants can’t always afford to travel for college visits. It’s true that a lot of schools would like to see some level of interest in the school – but I think most don’t penalize for not travelling out of state. You can read up on the school, in detail, and then recite some of what you’ve learned in your application as reasons that you would be a good fit for them, and vice versa.</p>
<p>However, more importantly, you SHOULD definitely try to make a visit to any college you plan to attend prior to the national acceptance date of May 1.</p>
<p>In my family, we’ve noticed that a college visit can make or break the deal. There have been colleges that have looked ideal for one kid – until the visit. Oh my gosh – I can think of a few that would have been HUGE mistakes for certain kids of mine. The fit was just not there at all – except when we were reading websites, guidebooks, and flyers. And there have been a few schools that shocked us by feeling like a perfect fit after an ambivalent visit. (I’m thinking Baylor right now, for instance … nobody in my family was particularly interested in visiting for any of the kids. For various reasons that shall remain nameless, we decided at the last minute to add to our tour of Texas schools. Wow. It shot to the top of my son’s list – none of us would EVER have guessed!)</p>
<p>So, in a nutshell … please make time and money to visit prior to acceptance. Don’t worry about visiting prior to applications if you really can’t afford it.</p>