<p>I live in the Northwest, so visiting Stanford is not a huge endeavor like it would be if I lived on the East Coast. But it would be costly (either to fly or to drive), so I'm not sure if I should visit. I know the campus is huge and gorgeous and I would love to go to check it out, but I just don't know whether it's worth the time and money. They don't track visits or anything (at least according to their website), nor do they offer interviews, so that's another thing. I could go, but I don't want to spend the time (and most importantly the money) if there's not a strong benefit to visiting. I have visited several other schools of different sizes, types, etc., so this visit would be specifically to visit STANFORD, not to test the waters for what's out there. I'm pretty sure that I'll be applying, maybe even early. But I still don't know if the trip will be that enlightening. =/</p>
<p>in terms of demonstrated interest, visiting will not help you (as you said). however, when it comes down to making a final decision, you should definitely visit the schools you are strongly considering because many times it is just the FEEL of a campus that will really be the selling point.<br>
scenario: you get into Stanford and school A and B. you have visited schools A and B but have not visited stanford. it will make it that much harder to make your final decision if you don't eventually visit the school. However, considering the fact that there are very slim chances that even a very bright student will get into the school, i would wait on the visit in order to save money. if you do get in, however, make sure you come for a visit! in the meantime, talk to as many people as possible about the school in order to get more of a feel for the campus, academics, social life, professors, etc. There are also a lot of great pictures on stanford's new (and improved!) undergraduate admissions website. I would definitely give it a looksee if i were you.</p>
<p>^Thanks so much! I would definitely visit if I got in! It would definitely be a consideration (you guys have admitted students weekends, right?). I can also get in touch with students, since my school generally has a big acceptance rate to S (and a lot go!). I already did a visit trip mainly on the East Coast, since I wouldn't have another chance to go visit before applying. But I just don't think that visiting Stanford before applications is an ideal option.</p>
<p>I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I keep hearing (anecdotal stuff) about how you can actually set up an interview when you visit Stanford even though they do not officially offer interviews. Is this true?</p>
<p>Definitely just wait until you've gotten in to visit. If you're sure you're going to apply, there's not much sense in visiting unless it's just for pure fun.</p>
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you guys have admitted students weekends, right?
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<p>Stanford has Admit Weekend, when it goes all-out to get its newly admitted students to attend. Very fun and worth your time, if you're admitted.</p>
<p>One benefit to visiting is that the Stanford application has one of those "why stanford?" essays. I visited campus right before I started my application and found it really easy to personalize that essay from things I saw on campus. However, if you have really good solid reasons why Stanford is the perfect place for you already, a visit would be a waste of your time and money until you were accepted. While there is no official record of who visits and who does not, being able to point out specific things from your visit that you liked about Stanford does show demonstrated interest (which is the whole point of that essay in my opinion.)</p>
<p>All of what I talked about in my "why Stanford" essay was what I'd learned online at their site and such. I mentioned many specific things, but none that I had learned when I visited.</p>
<p>Thanks for the opinions. I want to visit, but with gas and everything it will be better to wait until results, methinks. I have a lot of resources at my disposal, so I'll use those.</p>