<p>Will someone please explain to me the timing on college interviews and campus visits? How would early admission play into this? I am trying to figure out whether we would likely do most of our traveling in the fall for interviews and check out colleges at that time or whether most colleges do not require interviews and it would be best to save the money and only check out those colleges S is accepted into.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>You should be able to get an interview with an alumni close to where you live, so traveling to other colleges for an interview is excessive. </p>
<p>If you’re S is applying early, I would spend the summer traveling and pinpointing a definite college that he would love to attend if he gets in early. There is no point committing to an ED agreement if you’re not 100% sure about the college. </p>
<p>It also depends on what schools your S is applying to. Top schools like Princeton, Harvard, and Georgetown will “encourage” alumni interviewers while some like JHU or WashU aren’t that picky.</p>
<p>A lot depends on the college. Some schools put a high value on “demonstrated interest”; for those schools a visit including a campus tour (be sure to put name on the list) is important. Few schools require on campus interviews; interviews with a local alum are more common. I like colleges tours in the spring of the HS junior year, but do what works best for your family. Good luck.</p>
<p>I think schools are also realistic - if the school is close by, then you really should visit (not just to make them happy). My daughter got accepted to three schools she did not visit. St Johns - New Mexico, Willamette and Colorado College. St Johns states clearly on their website that they expect homeschoolers (which we are) to visit and interview. My daughter noted on her application that her parents will not take her to visit any schools that have not accepted her. </p>
<p>She is applying to small LACs. With the exception of the one above and another that accepted her on a fast track, she was interviewed by adcoms who were visiting in the area. She had no alumni interviews. </p>
<p>Next weekend we are flying to visit St Johns. She will overnight. They have left some time for her to talk to someone in admissions, if she wants, but since she has already been accepted it is not mandatory. We are making this school a priority because it has the potential of being the number 1 choice. I figure it will cost us about $1000 to make the visit. </p>
<p>We will not visit Willamette. It was a safety, and she is in at schools that are a better fit.
This was her first acceptance, and they offered her a very tempting merit scholarship. We did consider going up there to check it out, but decided not to.</p>
<p>In April, both Colorado and St Johns have special overnights for admitted students. We will go to one or both (but as a family camping/road trip) depending on how her other acceptances are playing out. She applied to two local schools. </p>
<p>Sometimes just sending them email asking to be put on their mail list is enough to show interest in a school. Visits are expensive and are difficult during school time.</p>
<p>I think a tour in the spring is invaluable, but only if you do a lot of research first so you go to places that seem in your child’s wheelhouse, and go when school is in session and the campus is active. Some colleges will do interviews with second-semester juniors and some won’t, but the ones that won’t will arrange for off-campus interviews near you in the fall, so don’t worry about that.</p>
<p>If your son is interested in more than one broad geographical area, you can always hit another region in the fall of senior year. It’s not cheap, but neither is four years of college, and we found it a worthwhile investment to go on a college tour.</p>
<p>My D was very happy to enter her fall of senior year having seen a lot of schools and knowing what she wanted, while some of her friends were still feeling overwhelmed and uninformed. All that homework and looking we did made her application process as low-stress as possible (ha!).</p>
<p>Plus we had fun looking at the schools! And she had strong opinions, which became more refined as the search continued. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>If it’s not too hard to start visiting in the fall, I’d do that. For me, it was really helpful in seeing not only the actual colleges, but the type of colleges I was interested in. I thought Boston U was the place for me, but after touring (and hating it), I crossed city schools off my list. The only school I didn’t visit was one that was 7 hours away, and a reach, so I’ll wait until I get accepted (or not) to possibly visit.</p>
<p>Of all my friends and their interviews, only one took place at the actual college, the rest were local alumni meetups. I think that’s a lot easier and more common.</p>