<p>I guess it has to do with being a foreigner. I know plenty of kids who had to chose a University without visiting it. My niece for example. She was accepted into BU, NYU and Cornell (not a theater major). She looked through all the materials that were available on internet and brochures but in the end-- she put all 3 big envelopes on the kitchen counter and tried to decide what’s the most appealing. Of course, she ended up with Cornell. I am sure only because of the name. Same with my D’s friend who chose Duke over USC. That’s a reality for foreign students. We also usually don’t have much difference in terms of money.</p>
<p>Now, my D is fortunate, she lives and studies in US and is able to visit the schools she has on her list. I am sure she will visit those that will accept her (if she did not visit them before) before she makes her decision.</p>
<p>For me, on the other hand, it sounds normal to chose a school for the name. I trust ratings and reputation.</p>
<p>Now imagine your child was accepted to a couple of schools in US that he/she visited and liked, not the reach schools but nice safeties, and to RADA (say, they did not invite for a callback to London). You can’t visit RADA for some reason (but money is not an issue) and have to make a decision. Would you really advise your D/S NOT to chose it because you have not visited it? And go to one of the safeties instead?</p>
<p>Nope. I trust ratings and reputation, too. RADA wins sight unseen. Honestly, mine is not one of those kids who likes or dislikes places because of the campus or the food or whatever. It’s all about the program and the perceived prestige. There will undoubtedly be things to like or dislike everywhere and I also agree with Bisou in that if it really doesn’t work out it’s not really the end of the world. After all, she still got into a great school and kids transfer all the time. We know a girl who just transferred from BoCo into NYU but it was the only acceptance she had at the time so she went. The problem wasn’t a visit issue. Lots, maybe most, don’t have the option of going to their first choice school because they don’t get in. They compromise. She’ll be just fine.</p>
<p>My D1 fell in love at first sight with her school, on a cold day in November, in the rain. I figured it had to be real!</p>
<p>You can’t tell everything about any school, at any time. And visits almost always include some kind of “marketing” by the school, even by the students. It’s very hard to get the cold realities until you get there (I guess literally, in bisouu’s case).</p>
<p>I visited my school in the dead of winter - to me it was as if the sun were shining on a paradise. On the other hand, my first year winter ended in March and we were in t-shirts all spring. The other 3 years it barely warmed up enough by June to sit out on the grass. Twists of fate.</p>
<p>D2 thought she didn’t care much about food, dorms, things like that. Once she was there, she realized how much these things impact your life. But she wouldn’t transfer because of them. For her, it was all about the program and the people, and the location (also wanted city access). And you can’t 100% count even on those - people come and go, and they don’t always end up being what they seem, for better or for worse, and even the program can change drastically from one year to the next.</p>
<p>Many differences are just details. In many ways college is just college, and even theatre programs are just programs - they will provide training and good opportunities. But we all are human and hope we can get a few details in there that matter to us. My D1 went to her dream school and loved it. A year or two in, she admitted that our state flagship - which she did everything to avoid - would have given her just as good an education and experience. But her dream school gave her a unique experience that I’d never deny her. It was the only thing in her life that she ever wanted so much and asked us for.</p>
<p>Notactingmom makes a very good point. My son did a semester abroad (not theatre) and was going to be studying at a school for one semester, sight unseen. He went with no one from his US college, and went on reputation alone. We were certainly not going to fly him to Europe to check it out first.
Now this was only one semester , not 4 years. But that is 1/8 of college!</p>
<p>That is an interesting point, Mommy5. However, the very nature of the study abroad program is to have the kids stretch themselves. Plunking down in the middle of a foreign country and finding their way is a huge part of that learning. So, I understand your thought, but it is different from choosing a 4YR college.</p>
<p>Three schools that my DD thought would be fantastic were quickly eliminated from consideration after our visit. One school she thought she would dislike moved right to the top of her list after her visit once she was accepted. I cannot imagine a scenario where she would have accepted anyplace without a visit.</p>
<p>One suggestion regarding a visit to NYU: After our campus tour, we hopped a cab and visited two of the studios that are linked to Tisch. This gave my D valuable information about the places she would likely be spending three days a week, as well as the distance necessary to travel.</p>
<p>NYU was my son’s dream school at first. Then, when he learned more about the studio system, he became a little bit uneasy…although he did apply and was accepted.</p>
<p>He visited SUNY Purchase and liked it a lot, and that became he new dream school. He was not accepted there, though.</p>
<p>My son was accepted at BU, visited it, and loved it. He attended it for four years, graduated last May, and was very, very happy there.</p>
<p>My daughter fell in love with her school on a cold, gray, February day. When we went to orientation, it was July and she did not even realize how green and filled with trees it would be, so that was a bonus.</p>
<p>For my daughter visiting the schools was so important. Her number one school after auditions was Purchase if she had not been accepted to Juilliard. Once her acceptances came in she spent a half day at purchase and realized it wasn’t for her. She decided on Rutgers until she saw LAMDA and then her top choice became LAMDA even if she would have come off the wait list at Juilliard. For her, she needed the visits to get and feel “the fit”.</p>