<p>I've been to the US many times before, but never with the specific intention of visiting colleges.
I've only once visited Berkeley a really really long time ago. </p>
<p>So I'm just generally asking if september would be a good time to visit?
would this time allow me to see a campus and what it looks like day to day? </p>
<p>I'll be going to LA and NYC ,and i know september is a pretty long time from now. But are is there any advice for me? and is there any advice specifically related to my international student status? </p>
<p>I come from Singapore, which is a small country , where you can basically visit all the universities in one day.
How long does it take to tour and visit a college on average?
Will I be able to visit two colleges in a day?</p>
<p>Be sure to check the academic calendars of the colleges in which you are interested. Some colleges begin in August, some begin in mid-September. It would probably be best to avoid either the week before classes begin (freshmen will be having orientation) or the week classes begin.</p>
<p>Also find out if interviews are required. If so, this will be the best time to accomplish that. If at all possible, arrange to sit in a class or two. Eat a meal in the cafeteria to assess the food.</p>
<p>While it is possible to visit two colleges in the same day if they are close together, you run the risk of confusing the two.</p>
<p>Mid to late September is a great time to visit. The weather is usually very nice all across the country. Early September could work for many schools, but the students may have only been in clas for a short time, or not started at all. Do avoid “freshman move-in” weekend, usually 7-14 days before class starts. It’s uniformly crazy.</p>
<p>You may be shocked to find out how much time it takes to travel within the US. Even if you are only interested in California schools, you may find that they are hours apart. You will have to decide whether to fly, drive or take the train from one school to the next. Compared to many developed countries, our train and bus system is slow and limited. </p>
<p>There is an excellent site called Trip Advisor that can help you plan a visit. When you have a definite list of schools, make a plan and ask for more advice.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I agree. I think it’s exactly at this point that campuses are really a-buzz with activity, and I think it’s a great time to get a sense of the overall karma of a school.</p>
<p>Most schools do indeed have tours at this time, the weather is generally spectacular, and nobody’s all stressed out with exams and finals.</p>
<p>Now that I think of it, it’s probably a great time to visit schools!</p>
<p>One thing you have to check about move in / first week of classes is that many colleges will NOT have tours etc. They really try to get the freshmen settled.</p>
<p>heyalb-- as a tour guide, I completely disagree with you. The worst time to come in the last week of summer or the first week of classes. The first week of classes tour guides are rusty and difficult to find available, so you often get someone with their head somewhere completely different and who hasn’t given a tour in 3 or 4 months. The last week of summer those guides are burnt out on tours (I was a summer guide for a while) and the tours are tremendous-- we’re talking someone who has just given 100+ tours for the past 10-12 weeks now having to lead groups of 80-100 people. It’s just not a great time.</p>
<p>The best time, at least at Brown, is after shopping period, so three weeks into the semester which is basically the third week of September. Almost all the guides have given at least one tour at that point, the schedule has become more regular, the weather in the NE is still quite nice, classes and the whole university is in the normal flow of things, visiting classes is less hectic because we’re not shopping, etc etc.</p>
<p>We certainly offer less tours and don’t offer the science tour the first week or two of the semester, and the quality is certainly worse.</p>
<p>So I think September is fantastic, but you should probably wait until week 3 or so of September when most schools have had some time in session. The LA schools probably start earlier than most NE schools so if you went there first that may space things perfectly.</p>
<p>The most memorable tour I took with my kids was with two guides at Williams leading their first group. Unrehearsed and revealing. They were both charming.<br>
Agree that the end of September-early October is best.</p>