<p>My spring break is coming up and I'm thinking about visiting some colleges about 4 hours away from my house (Cornell and Brown). Is it too early to visit these colleges? If it is too early, would visiting the colleges during the fall of junior year be a good time as wells as the spring of junior year? I don't want to visit any colleges during my senior year or during the summer.</p>
<p>It is never early. It takes a while to visit them and so you do some everytime you get a chance.</p>
<p>If you are interested in looking now then go for it. My oldest started looking the summer between freshman and sophomore year. He looked again junior year and senior year. By the time he had to apply he knew what he was looking for. Not all kids are ready this young. One of mine waited until Junior year. He just wasn’t ready to look until then.</p>
<p>i visited a few schools sophomore year, and while some of the people i told thought i was a bit young, i think it’s good that i started so early, since now i have time to visit most of the schools i’m considering. if you already have some schools that you’d really like to see, then spring break of your sophomore year is a good time to start.</p>
<p>Sophomore year is a great time to visit a wide variety of schools. Look at large research univeristies, small LACS, Ivy and safeties, etc. This is a good time to determine what you want in a school, so that you can begin to put together your lists. It is also a good time to talk finances with your parents so that they can tell you what they are willing to pay and use a financial aid calculator to determine what you will be expected to pay.</p>
<p>Sophomore year is a very good time to start. You will be surprised how fast the time goes. The college visits are much better when school is in session. Summer visits do not offer as much. Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are useless for college visits. High school spring break is usually a good time to go. Junior year is a hectic time with ACT/SAT and a demanding high school academic year. It is also good to time visits with your family travels so you can reduce travel costs.</p>
<p>I was a sophmore two years ago, and my school sponsored a college road trip to some of the universities in my state, and I can honestly say that this experience influenced my decisions on where to apply for school. Getting a first-hand look at the campus made everyone excited. Fast forward two years, and I’m ecstatic about where I will spend the next four years of my life and education. So it is good to get a first-hand look at the universities. Waiting until senior year is not good.</p>
<p>Yes, start now. Spare yourself the hasty road trips that my senior son and family just took during a couple of weekends and over spring break to look at the schools he was admitted to. We live in the West and the schools are far apart – so the drives were long and exhausting.</p>
<p>I think earlier visits would have helped his applications as well: He would have known exactly why he wanted to attend xxx school when he answered that question on the apps. It would have also shown the admission counselors that he was interested in the schools before applying. (I naively thought it was like the old days – where you visited the schools once you got into them to make your decision.)</p>
<p>During our recent visits, there were many sophomores and juniors on the tours, so you’ll be in good company. You don’t have to take notes while you are the school during the day (you will see some moms doing this), but once you get back to the hotel room, write up exactly how you felt about the school, what stood out and what you liked. </p>
<p>As you start this process, I agree with the other poster that it is critical to make sure you know how much your parents can afford and what they are willing to pay for college – and how much debt you are willing to incur. Had I found this site and run the EFC forecaster earlier, my son and I would have been on the same page about where he should apply. We tend to believe the hype that good students are going to get scholarships, merit money and more, and that it will all be OK financially. My son did get some great scholarships and merit money, but they aren’t enough to fill the gap between what we can pay and what the cost of attendance at the college is. </p>
<p>Also, by doing your visits in advance and having more time now, you’ll be able to plan some fun touristy stuff around your trips as well. I know some folks who have turned the process into fun family vacations! Good luck.</p>
<p>If they’re nearby, start now. Your interests can change drastically in the next two years so I wouldn’t recommend spending a ton of money to visit your far off schools this early. But if it’s only a road trip distance, definitely do it.</p>
<p>Just to provide a contrary point of view, I think that sophomore year could be too early. There are a lot of important questions that you have to think about before visiting a college is really of significant value. Otherwise, you can really only judge on surface factors like how pretty the campus is, the facilities, etc-- which, while important, really aren’t the main focus. And keep in mind, the colleges and tour guides really sell the school!!! You’ll most likely like both Brown and Cornell just on the basis of a visit-- most people do! However, if you wait a little bit and visit after you’ve thought about some tough questions, your visits will be more worthwhile. </p>
<p>Here are just a few of the things you should consider before even deciding to apply/visit a college, in my opinion:
- Does this school have a good program for my interests?
- Is this school an academic match for me? (For example, grades at Cornell are competitive, Brown has a multidisciplinary kind of attitude, etc)
- What does this school have that I’m drawn to? (Example, if you love the outdoors, then that would be a plus for Cornell. If you were really interested in studying abroad, that would be a plus for Dartmouth). </p>
<p>Now, from personal experience, I can tell you that sophomore year I had no clue about any of these things. Most of them I didn’t actually really figure out until I was in the process of applying! However, I’m totally aware that some people (you might be included) already have an idea of these things well before I did. Just leave room for your interests and thoughts to change. Don’t commit too early. You have a lot of time! 
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<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I would say that 10th grade is a perfect time to start.</p>
<p>I was a somewhat underwhelming student at the beginning of high school and touring colleges during spring break in 10th grade was a big kick in the pants! It really gave me a concrete idea of what I had to do in order to get into a good school when the time came. I definitely picked up my grades after that.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I didn’t end up going to (or even ranking high on my final list) any of the schools I visited in that initial tour. What it did, though, was give me a great idea of what I wanted. I quickly realized that isolated, small campuses were not for me–and neither were huge city schools. I got an idea of cities I liked, cities I didn’t, what sort of program I was looking for (I was deciding between applying for BA or BFA programs), that I didn’t like religious schools, etc. You won’t necessarily find your dream, number one, must-go-here-or-die school, but it’s a good wake up call. College is not a far away, distant thing; you’re going to have to decide what you want sooner or later–you might as well start narrowing a list now.</p>
<p>You have received some great advice so far. Nicekidsmom, your 4th paragraph needs to be highlighted! So important what you said! </p>
<p>I had always thought that soph year was too early, but we are planning on looking around a bit with our second one (a soph) this spring. Starting a little earlier than with number one. With him, I had no idea how little time is afforded at the end of the junior and first part of senior year. The rigors of school, weekends of testing, the school functions that can’t be missed, etc. those two years were a blur and actually it was a bit stressful trying to find time to take visits. It should be fun! </p>
<p>Also, it makes it much nicer if you don’t have to cram too many schools into a visit time. If you start early you can enjoy the ones you visit so much more and I think really see with what your child thinks, if they are ready to look. Some are, some aren’t. Good luck and have fun!</p>
<p>Absolutely not! I visited Rice University during my sophomore year of high school and fell in love with it; now I’ll be a freshman at Rice in the fall.
In my opinion, it’s a fine time for you to visit those schools. Have fun! :)</p>
<p>A slightly contrary view----it’s great to start but I think it helps to also see a potential match school. Since Cornell and Brown are reaches for almost everyone, I would work in Colgate, Hamilton or Trinity on the trip. Wesleyan may end up being a reach too but it’s slightly easier to get into than Brown. Looking at only dream schools early on may not save that much time later. Looking at contrasting sizes may be good too. So Cornell, Colgate and Hamilton, for example, would be good. Or in combination with Brown, see Brandeis, Tufts or Wellesley (if appropriate!) It’s not really a match for anyone either, but if you are driving to Rhode Island, stopping at Amherst could be an interesting contrast in size.</p>
<p>Mine visited colleges the summer between 9th and 10th. This summer she will spend time at one college. I think it will solidify what she wants when she picks which college to apply. It’s good because it motivates her to keep her GPA up.</p>