<p>MSU Dad, I agree: being exposed to possibilities is important. And putting a tangible face on what has been an abstraction up to then. Giving them experiences to react against, to introduce questions they may not have considered and can thus have a year or two to mull over and distill.</p>
<p>mathmom: Regarding post #57......."My then 8th grader adored CalTech????"
Just wondering, how did your 8TH GRADER happen to go visit CalTech? Did he come up with CalTech, or did someone influence him to look at CalTech.</p>
<p>I've worked with literally thousands of students, and the ones that get me the most nervous are the pre-highschoolers who are looking at the elite colleges. In virtually 100% of the cases I've seen over 30 years, it was the parents, not the pre-highschoolers, who loved the colleges.</p>
<p>What on earth is an 8th-grader doing visiting CalTech?</p>
<p>My then-8th grader visited Caltech (among other schools). We brought him along when his older brother was visiting the campus. (not that my younger kid would want to go to Caltech...) Seems pretty harmless to me!</p>
<p>If he gets a feel for big vs. small, rural vs. urban vs. suburban, etc., then perhaps we'll start out the "real" search with more of a clue as to his preferences. More than likely, though, we'll be starting from scratch, as I can't see both my sons winding up at the same school.</p>
<p>I'm not mathmom, old but wise, but I can speak from a similar perspective as a student who was taken to see elite colleges during middle school....as much as you may not want to believe it, not all kids are stressed out by these visits. They don't make everyone feel pressured. Not every kid who sees an elite school at a young age has pushy, domineering parents. I KNOW that this is true, because I am that kid who saw elite colleges during middle school. My parents are NOT domineering, NOT pushy, and have NEVER pressured me to apply to any school, elite or not. </p>
<p>I'm not saying that these visits are right for every kid/family. I can certainly see how some might feel/be pressured by such visits. But it's not wrong or bad for everyone...it worked out well for me. My parents never presented it, and I never thought of it, as them pushing me towards HYP. They have never done so, and would never do so. But seeing those colleges was advantageous for me--later on, when I was ready to make my college list and visits, I knew that I didn't want or need to go see Harvard--my visit there, and everything that I later read about it, made it clear that it was not right for me. Same thing with the University of Virginia, and the University of Illinois, our state school. All were colleges that likely would have been on or near my list, had I not seen them and later researched them and eliminated them. Since middle school, I've seen at least 20 or 25 colleges. Most of these were on my official college visits, but the extras that were spread out over the preceding 5+ years would have been impossible to visit during my Junior or Senior year, and the visits helped me to form my college list so that I did have a better idea of what to look for.</p>
<p>We looked at schools for our oldest the summer between junior and senior year, and in retrospect, she had changed so much over the preceding couple of years that going sooner probably would have been premature. I suspect that in her younger years, a small, remote, beautiful campus would have been appealing, while by the time she was about to start her senior year, she had developed into a person happier in a bigger, more urban environment.</p>
<p>I come from a bookish sort of family. We always poked around colleges whenever we were in a college town while I was growing up. That was very helpful to me later and didn't put any pressure on me or my schedule, plus I got the subtle message that colleges and universities are very special resources and are lifelong places, not just for 18-to-22-year olds. My folks and I liked the bookstores and sometimes had a quick peak into the art museum. I liked having an hour or two to walk around the campus looking at the buildings, watching people, and going into the stores that catered to college students. We could usually find a good inexpensive place for lunch. With just a little extra planning, my parents regularly scheduled these adventures in as midday breaks on long vacation drives.</p>
<p>I got a lot out of a tour and info session at one of the local universities as a sophomore. It was not a school I had any interest in attending, so there was no pressure. I got a sense for what tours and information sessions were all about. Now that I'm a little older, as I meet people who go to school there or are applying there, I'm glad I know something about the school. Other high school students that I've met at sports competitions have asked me about it. I certainly didn't waste that day.</p>
<p>Because I do sports all year, scheduling college visits was really tough and I'm glad I did some as a sophomore. I ended up reaching further and further afield. I just couldn't have explored a breadth of colleges in various areas without starting early.</p>
<p>My parents would have let me go on college visits by myself as a junior and a senior but transportation was a problem with some of the schools I wanted to see. That meant I needed to have someone who could drive very long distances or rent a car with me. That, in turn, meant that I needed to have a parent or a friend's parent with me but all the adults have limited vacation available and/or have demanding schedules that make it hard to schedule days off. Starting off in sophomore year made the process easier because it could be spread out more and therefore it was a little easier to fit it into everyone's schedules. As a junior and senior, I did fly or take the train to a few urban campuses for long weekends, and that worked quite well -- so I guess that scheduling depends a lot on where one lives and how accessible interesting schools are.</p>
<p>I did not find visits to empty campuses in the summer to be particularly helpful, with one exception. I was traveling a good bit for sports last summer and my coaches let me schedule interviews at several of my top choices while I was in or near those schools' towns. Because they took place at a relaxed time when I wasn't scrambling from tour to tour amid hordes of other applicants while also trying to keep up with a very heavy courseload, those interviews went especially well and I was glad that I hadn't tried to squeeze them in during my initial visits at those colleges.</p>
<p>If I had freshman or sophomore kids and I could incorporate an unpressured, very loosely scheduled "look-see" or two into a family vacation, I would encourage them to go onto a college's website beforehand to see if there was anything going on on campus that they might want to do. If it fits a high school student's current interests, a sports event or a dance performance, for example, can be a wonderful (and motivating) introduction to a college and to why the college years are so rich and amazing. My parents encouraged me to take a part in researching and planning family vacations from a young age. It was great for my self-confidence and it felt wonderful when something that I had picked out turned out to be fun for everyone. If you hope for your child to have a productive, involved role in looking for colleges as juniors and seniors, this could be a good place to start.</p>
<p>As a general comment: rushing from college to college, taking a tour and having an information session and then rushing to the next place is not a good way to find what school fits. I am extremely grateful to my parents. They worked very hard to make sure that I had at least one full day on the campus of each of the eight schools that ultimately were on my list (tour, info session, sitting in on a class, wandering through the buildings looking at the bulletin boards, on-campus meal, museum, bookstores, wandering around town, and an evening sports or art event if we stayed overnight). I was lucky also to have official overnight stays on campus at my top choices since I was being recruited as an athlete. Quality time rather than rushing around time -- but I could do that because I already had narrowed down what interested me (largely because of those early informal visits when I was much younger). </p>
<p>I really think that I was pretty much able to get away from the whole prestige thing and just decide what might fit me well. I think I would have been extremely happy at any of the eight schools that were on my list, and I know I am really fortunate to have been accepted at my top choice early decision. I feel as though my college visiting had a long, gentle curving slope and, again, I attribute a lot of that to starting early in a very casual, age-appropriate way.</p>
<p>Environmentalist-- I think you you said it best!! Its perfectly fine to start familiarizing your kid early to college campuses in a no pressure kind of way.<br>
After a week-end visit to Cooperstown and the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, we figured there was no harm to visit the campus at SUNY Oneonta and have a quick lunch in the student center. As my older kid was in the 9th grade, this was not thought of as a VISIT to see a college campus, but to spend some time to see what a campus looked like and basically have another choice than McDonalds for lunch.<br>
When we visited my d at Cortland this year for parent's week-end, we noticed that there were LOTS of local kids watching the Cortland football game. I am sure the parents were taking the kid to see a football game. This "gentle" way of getting a kid to visit a campus will probably make your own kid feel more at ease when they are actually going to do the college tour routine.
There are alot of stress free ways to get a kid on a college campus. And Env- I want to thank you again for sharing your thoughts.</p>
<p>I agree that rushing around from college to college is probably not adequate for making an ultimate decision about which college one wants to attend, but, at least for me, it was more than adequate for narrowing down my college list to a reasonable amount (9--might be more than some people suggest, but it is/was the right amount for me). In my experience, it actually does not take that long to figure out whether a school is a good possibility for you, or not. Of course, it would have been preferable to spend more time on each campus (although...I didn't really feel like I needed or wanted to), but when that is not a possibility, a quick visit can still accomplish what it needs to. For people who live far away from the colleges that they are applyting to and have parents who cannot take off much time from work, sometimes a quick visit has to, and can, suffice.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My then 8th grader adored CalTech????"
Just wondering, how did your 8TH GRADER happen to go visit CalTech? Did he come up with CalTech, or did someone influence him to look at CalTech.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>He was being dragged along on big brother's college tour. He had a book under his arm the whole time, but he did enjoy the Caltech tour. They tell you about all the pranks among other things and he thought Caltech had great food. I wouldn't take an 8th grader on a college tour on purpose, on the other hand, I don't think it hurt him to see a few colleges over spring break. We did a little sightseeing and visiting relatives and friends as well.</p>
<p>My DD2 visited Caltech when she was 5. She loved her brother's bunker bed in the Fleming House and climbed up the canon. There was also unlimited supply of icecream. Now she is ready to join as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>I remember the first time I visited our VT Statehouse. I was awed and wouldn't have thought of saying anything. I sat in on committee meetings, ate lunch in the cafeteria and by the end of the day I realized I belonged there as much as anyone else. I want kids to feel that way about college campuses. No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here.</p>
<p>Beautifully said, bethievt. </p>
<p>A well known naturalist (now deceased) took a small child bird watching with him once. It was the equivalent of having Thor Heyerdahl take you canoeing. His reason: the child showed an interest and it's easier to do something again as an adult if you did it once as a child. The posts on this thread that strike me are the ones where visiting a college campus is an everyday kind of thing - it is not about applying to a highly competitive college. It's about seeing more of the world.</p>
<p>Marny1, I appreciate the ideas for campus touring next year. We're in Pennsylvania where, unfortunately, we don't have a week off, but instead we have a three day weekend. It's interesting to know that February was the more crowded time to tour campuses. Last year during President's Day weekend, D1 and I toured the University of Pittsburgh and, sure enough, there was a huge crowd at that info session/tour, in spite snow that weekend, along single-digit wind-chill temperatures(those Pittsburgh winters can be tough, lol) Because we only have the long weekend, it would limit us as far how many schools we can see, so we'll probably wait (at least during D2's sophomore year) until the spring break, which is a full week, around early April, to visit schools.</p>