<p>I will be visiting Pepperdine in February (those of you who have ever read my previous posts know that this is my 1 choice) I was supposed to go at the end of this month but my dad couldn't take as much time off of work as he could in Feb. Anyway, we're coming from Philadelphia so I want to show the people at Pepp that I really am interested but I won't be able to reflect on visiting in my any of my application materials because that's due by Jan. 15. Hopefully you catch my dilemma; if anyone has been in a similar situation can you offer any advice? I know I when I go I will speak with the people there and thus they will know I'm very interested but I'm not sure if they'll really remember me lol Okay, time to stop this jumble of words ... lol</p>
<p>There must be a spot somewhere on the application to say something like “I have read so much and heard so much about Pepperdine that I am really looking forward to our family’s February 8 trip to campus.”</p>
<p>I agree with MidwestMom2Kids. You can find a way to work in some mention of your upcoming trip and how much you are looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Also, make sure you email the admission’s office a few times with a few questions that you might have about the school. Ask about the student life, dorms, academics, or anything else you might be wondering about. This shows interest!!</p>
<p>You could also see if they do on campus interviews.</p>
<p>RacinReaver, they don’t do interviews for the admissions process but I am not sure if they do for when students visit. I’ll try to find out.</p>
<p>You’re not the only one, and thanks for asking the Q. we are in the same situation. We have conflicts to visit my D dream college duirng this year. So the visit has to wait until next year hopefully before admissions/rejection letters arrive.</p>
<p>My son visited the college he ended up attending after he had been accepted AND gotten the financial aid offer. The accepted students events are great for students that haven’t had a chance to visit previously or just need a second look to help with the decision. He actually visited two colleges after acceptances. I think if the college is a good distance away, the admissions office is probably more understanding.</p>
<p>My son visited his current college after his apps were in but before the school’s apps deadline. Illness in the family prevented us from an earlier visit. He could not get an interview that day but he followed up with a letter to Admissions showing his enthusiasm about the college, mentioned the tour guide, specific things he noticed and why he would be an excellent fit. He’s there now and quite happy.</p>
<p>Worst case scenario happened to us…We set up an appointment with admissions and dept. chair and campus tour. When we arrived in admissions, the counselor told my son he had not been accepted into the program. I can’t believe the school couldn’t have called us to let us know before we arrived.</p>
<p>toledo, how awful for you all. You know how there are “likely letters”? It seems like someone could have given your son a call or an email, as a sort of an “unlikely letter.” </p>
<p>I have a feeling that a visit within a month of a colleges app deadline can still help the app for a “show interest” school, especially if it is mentioned on the application. </p>
<p>I have a feeling that if you visit in March, there is a good chance that they may have already read and ruled on your app.</p>
<p>If after your visit it is still your first choice, you can email your regional admissions rep, and tell him how much you enjoyed the visit, and would like to attend.</p>
<p>thanks 10</p>
<p>We live in Minnesota and D (a senior) is considering DUKE. We went to the regional presentation here in the Twin Cities. The Admissions guy told us a visit is not required as they know the financial hardships it may cause some families. There are some schools my D applied to (DUKE for one) that we will visit if accepted to help make her final decision. Good luck with the search.</p>
<p>Gymmom</p>
<p>We made the same decision re campus visits as gymmom2007. We live in TX and the applications of oldest D and S and now youngest D have been scattered across the country. We decided that it would not be possible to visit each school and certainly some fall into the reach category. Schools within a reasonable distance are, of course, visited and others just have to fall into our if-accepted category. Overall, I am glad we waited rather than attempt to get all the visits in prior to acceptance - oldest d made her decision in January and notified the other 10 colleges to remove her name as an applicant. S applied to 5 schools and visited 4; the one he did not visit was an uber reach for him. It turned out to be his only rejection and I honestly feel that traveling across the country to visit the school would not have changed the result. Our kids meet with the reps and attend any admissions sessions in our town, though. Honestly, I believe the admissions counselors have to take into account distance whenever looking to see if the student visits.</p>
<p>And a just for fun anecdote:
A boy at my son’s school applied to 14 schools - all the Ivies and then MIT, Stanford, Rice, … Anyway, talked to him early that fall and asked about his college visits. Since all the schools were reaches, he had decided to wait until spring and then visit with acceptance letter in hand - and he hoped to have a few good choices in his hand. Lo and behold, April 2007 he had 14 acceptance letters in hand (city newspaper printed an article about him) - and then he did indeed visit. It’s always rewarding to see a nice kid get attention.</p>
<p>ignatius, what a boy! would be nice to know his stats and special talents.</p>