<p>I'm a junior, and though the advice seems to be that I should be touring colleges now, a lot of the colleges that I want to look at are far away on the East Coast. My plan so far has been to get opinions and look at college books, know what I want, and make a list. I have a list of about 15 schools that I'll probably apply to. Then, if and when I get accepted to (hopefully!) all the schools I want, THEN I'll go and visit. It seems more cost effective.</p>
<p>What do you guys think? Is this a good strategy?</p>
<p>I agree. 15 is way too many- that just screams out indecision. I think 10 at the most is enough, 6 or 7 is ideal.</p>
<p>I think visiting all of those after you are accepted is not the greatest strategy. For me visiting really helped me to decide that I definitely did not want to apply to a couple schools and led me to my ED school.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! My only problem is that my parents will only pay for one flight east, and I'll probably be going there multiple times next year because I'm applying to a bunch of combined BA/MD programs that require an interview at the campus. So the money to fly east would come out of my college fund. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Scarletleavy, I'm curious about how your visits helped you whittle down your list.
Btw, here's my college list:</p>
<p>BA/MD programs:
~Rice
~U of Rochester
~Northwestern
~Case Western
~Brown (w/ or w/out the BA/MD acceptance)
~Union</p>
<p>Well, I applied to 11 schools....which I thought was a perfect number - not too high, but not too low. As long as you can swing the financial burden, there's no problem with applying to more schools, although I definitely wouldn't do MORE than 15. I can genuinely picture myself attending any one of my schools, but don't randomly apply somewhere (esp. if pressured by the parents) if it's at all possible.</p>
<p>Let's see, out of the 11, I visited 6 - one was in-state. For the rest, I am going to wait and see if I get in, THEN visit to do some overnights, info sessions, etc. I applied to Swat and Haverford, and they're right next to each other basically, so visit both at once if you like each college.</p>
<p>I would take some tours of more local schools and then make a list of what I wanted in a school. Then I would compare your list to the colleges you are thinking of. Your must have an understanding of how far apart all of your schools are and how many weeks it would take to visit them. I would visit and interview over the summer before you apply. You would do well to interview at a school low on your list first so you can hit your pace on the schools you really like.</p>
<p>Looking at your list, I wonder about the impact of climate, city size, campus size, dorm life vs. housing. The hardest choice will be picking saftey schools, they have to be a great match for you but less competitive than the others. Good luck.</p>
<p>15 is not too many if you have the patience and the thousand bucks.</p>
<p>What are your credentials?</p>
<p>How much do finances matter? </p>
<p>ED or EA is a weapon that you probably don't want to use if you have not visited the schools. ED should not be used for the 90% of us where finances are an issue.</p>
<p>Just from the top of my head I know that from billy's list Rochester, Grinnell, Union, and Case are free online and Northwestern gives out fee waivers if you are on their mailing list. That's almost half of her app fee gone! There might even be more, those are just the ones I know.</p>
<p>Anyway, I have the same plan. I simply do not have the money to visit colleges before I apply. I know that I'm going to the school that gives me the best fin aid package, and then I'll visit that school to see if I could live there. No use visiting colleges I'm never going to go to. The only real college visits I've been out on are the ones that flew me out there on their expense for minority programs. Oh, which brings me to another thing... Some schools, if they really want you will fly you out to their school after you've been accepted, more money saving! I don't think any of the elite schools on billy's list would do that, but smaller schools will.</p>
<p>I think some people just don't know what its like to not be able to afford college visits (not saying this directly to anyone).</p>
<p>Just a note: Many colleges/universities now consider showing "demonstrated interest" in their school as a "tip factor" in admissions. One way to show demonstrated interest, obviously, is to visit. However, there are other ways to show demonstrated interest as well, and anyone who can not visit should take advantage of those. It can, by the way, be very difficult to show "Demonstrated interest" to 15 or more colleges.</p>
<p>Some ways to show demonstrated interest if you can't visit: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Attend any local presentations/visits the school makes to your local area (most schools list their visit schedule online). This includes both visits to your high school AND more generalized things like college fairs and local presentations.</p></li>
<li><p>Email the admissions rep for your area and introduce yourself. Ask if you can arrange to do a telephone interview or possibly an interview when he/she visits your area. Another option is an alumni interview, but I believe there is nothing quite as good as actually talking to the person who will be bringing your file before the admissions committee.</p></li>
<li><p>Get on the school's mailing list. Send back those Business Reply Cards that come with mailings as some schools do track this.</p></li>
<li><p>Get to know the school like the back of your hand. Thoroughly read all of the information available on their website about graduation requirements, faculty and other resources, majors available, courses offered, etc. Read the student newspaper (usually available online), including archives. Read the school's press releases about new programs (also available online). If you have questions, write intelligent emails to the admissions rep asking for clarification. Ask the admissions rep to point you in the direction of faculty members that would be willing to talk to a prospective student via email. CC the admissions rep if you do follow up.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep your eyes open for any subsidized prospective student trips you might qualify for - under represented minority weekends, scholarship weekends, etc. Take advantage of them if they are offered.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The goal with all of the above, is to be able to put together an application package tailored for each school, including writing a convincing short essay (even if it is not specifically asked for) about WHY you want to attend. Some schools do also ask about how your interest in them developed, being able to mention specific people you have been in contact with is a plus. </p>
<p>Again, all of this effort takes TIME. Which is why many in college admissions have suggested that applying to more than 10 or 12 schools actually reduces your chances of getting accepted.</p>
<p>I also wanted to mention a resource that might be useful if you can't visit in person. Collegiatechoice.com has video's available for purchase. They are not professional, nor are they marketing materials produced by the schools - two guidance counselors simply went around the country and videotaped the actual admissions tours at various schools. While the quality is not the best, they do give you an idea of what the campus looks like and some insights into campus culture. They cost about $15 a piece.</p>
<p>Carolyn Thanks for the info on Collegiatechoice. I just checked the site. They have several hundred "tours" including the University of Tampa. That was my d's first acceptance and the only school we haven't visited. Though we plan to go during the February break, I think it is definitely worth the $15 to get a "pre-tour". This way I will be better prepared during the time we're actually on campus. We're planning to visit Tampa once, and spend 2 days in the area. Our decision will be based on that very short visit. All the other schools<br>
are in the mid-Atlantic so we have been to most campuses at least twice and if need be we'll be back a third time. (What am I going to do with myself next year??) But for the hard to get to campuses, this sounds terrific. Thanks a bunch for the info. Billybob__ I can give you an update as to the quality of tours and info. This may be a good way to get a jumpstart on checking out campuses on the east coast. It's certainly a lot cheaper.</p>
<p>They're worth the $15 bucks just to get a preview. A warning though: they are not professionally produced, nor are they edited, and the quality of shooting (wild pans, shaking camera, etc.) might give some folks the willies --- but we found them very useful, even after we visited and D. needed wanted to just refresh her memory of which campus was which.</p>
<p>Hi again- just went over your initial list of schools. Univ. of Rochester is a wonderful school. My d gave it serious consideration but did decide to go elsewhere. Very nice campus- but the main negative is that it is really pretty cold in Rochester NY. Most of the academic buildings are connected by underground tunnels so it is possible to limit your time outside. It is very well known and respected in NYS and great for pre-med. I really liked the campus. The school is worth serious consideration. The school is also fairly generous with merit aid.<br>
Thanks again Carolyn, I think our messages crossed one another. I already printed out the order form and its a go. Not being from a family of great photograpers, we're all used to seeing fuzzy videos.</p>