<p>My daughter, a junior, visited lots of colleges this summer, attending the information sessions and taking the official tours. In order for her to decide if she wants to apply anywhere EA/ED, I think she needs to visit some of these schools when they are in session: to attend some classes, eat in the dining halls, even stay overnight in the dorms if possible, so that she gets a better sense of the kids and culture, etc. I've checked the academic calendars of the colleges she's particularly interested in, and they are in session during her spring break. But I see that all the schools have overnight stay programs only for seniors, mostly in the fall of the senior year. </p>
<p>Other than contacting someone we personally know at a college (and we don't know someone personally at every place), how can we arrange overnight visits for a junior? Also, what's the best way to arrange to sit in on classes - contact the professor or arrange it via the admissions office?</p>
<p>Contact the admissions office for all of these things. All overnight visits are arranged that way, and we found that most of the places we visited had certain classes that were available to sit in on. If you have a particular subject in mind, you should tell them that.</p>
<p>If your D is interested in one or two depts in particular, contact the chairman of the department for a tour (if relevant) and chat. These can be surprisingly informative. As one of the faculty we spoke to said, "We have a completely different view of (insert college name here) than Admissions--they only care about the stats, we care about students. :)</p>
<p>I agree with Wyogal. In certain schools, the person to contact would be the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Additionally, if your D is interested in sitting in a particular class, she might email the prof to ask permission as a courtesy. Some will allow auditors as a matter of course, and some refuse to let auditors in on small discussion classes. My S did not do overnight at the colleges he was interested in, but he ate in the cafeterias and chatted with students; he found these quite valuable.</p>
<p>Although we did visit colleges during junior and senior year, D didn't do actual overnighters until the acceptances came in and she had narrowed her choices down to a couple of schools. Some schools have a special weekend when admitted seniors are courted (MIT comes to mind).</p>
<p>I think what ellemenope suggests is most common and easiest to arrange. Visit the campuses during junior year spring break to get the feel, and arrange to sit in on some classes (and I would go through the admissions office for this first, since there are usually some profs who are more welcoming to visitors sitting in the back of the room than others). This should help narrow the application choices. Then once acceptances arrive senior year, and the "likelies" have been identified, arrange an overnight. </p>
<p>I know a lot of kids who applied EA/ED early in their senior year, and know of none who did an overnight before they made that application. But all of those I know had visited during their junior year the schools to which they applied EA/ED.</p>
<p>Just one other small point: we found that many schools do not allow juniors to do overnights at all. Other schools reserve the time from April 1 until May 1 for accepted student visits only. So it is important to check. </p>
<p>One other thought: I would be hesitant to cram multiple overnights into a short period of time. It could be extremely tiring and counter-productive by the time you daughter gets to her third night of sleeping on a stranger's floor in a week. So, it may be better to spread them out a bit more.</p>
<p>Finally, I was warned about this by the wonderful parents here who have gone before us but I didn't believe it would apply to my daughter until it happened: Kids really do change between the spring of junior year and the fall of senior year. That often includes their interests, likes/dislikes for certain colleges, and their readiness to really appreciate and participate in overnight college visits with strangers. So, I wouldn't worry too much if she doesn't get to do overnights at all of the possible schools this year. By next year, she may have an entirely different list of schools and go from "I'm definitely applying at College XYZ Early Decision" to "I need to think about this some more" like my daughter has between last spring and now. :)</p>
<p>We did standard visits in junior spring and summer. She narrowed her list down to 3 possible ED candidates - 1 leader, 2 maybes - and did overnights fall of senior year at 2 of the 3 . It was tough and expensive (we had to fly up for the overnights) but worth it, because it allowed her to make an informed decision about ED. They do change a lot over junior summer, and all through senior year, the longer you can put off an irrevocable decision, the more mature that decision will be. The trade-off is whatever boost she might get from ED and that wonderful feeling of being finished at Christmas.</p>
<p>We visited three out-of-state schools last spring break during my son's junior year. One of them (Georgia Tech) had a full day program for either juniors or seniors with good stats that included an overnight stay and visiting a class. He really got more out of that visit than at the other two schools where we just took the tour and talked to someone in the Electrical Engineering Department. He's working on his Georgia Tech application now, but not those from the other two schools, although he said he liked them all at the time.</p>
<p>Those visits can really make an impression!</p>
<p>Thanks to all. Given that the colleges my daughter is interested in don't offer overnights for juniors, it's easy enough to give up on that idea. She very likely would be better able to handle overnight visits later rather than earlier, anyway, although since visits involve long plane flights, we have to try to minimize the number of trips. I will be surprised if my daughter dramatically changes her opinions of the colleges she's seen, but those could be famous last words. I'm sure she can still gain a lot from spring break visits when students and professors are around and classes are in session. </p>
<p>So parents, what do you do when your kid is sitting in on a class? Hang out in the student center or snack bar? And what role, if any, do you play in any scheduled meetings with professors?</p>
<p>See the responses in Splashmom's thread--Overnight Visits. IMO, you stay out of the way and have yourself a good time while your young person learns the ropes and gets the feel. It won't be the same if you're with them. Explore the campus, visit the library. Lunch in the student center would be fine, but wear a disguise and don't say anything if you accidently run into your kid. See if there are any great sights to be seen off campus.</p>
<p>Lunch in the student center would be fine, but wear a disguise and don't say anything if you accidently run into your kid.>></p>
<p>LOL! In addition to driver's ideas, I have been known to return to the hotel for a quick nap. And, I also like to check out the local area for restaurants, shops, even the proximity of Wal-Mart and Target. After all, some day I might be visiting every so often to see my daughter --- nice to know in advance what's there.</p>
<p>Good tips in that Overnight Visits thread. I think I'll wear my cloak of invisibility and run some laps on the track. But, darn, I guess folks will still know I'm there by the loud gasping sounds.</p>
<p>Ramblin, when D did her overnight at Wellesley, I went back into Boston, had lunch with NewMassDad, toured the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Gardiner Museum, and had a nice seafood dinner. Dropped off in the morning, picked up the following morning.</p>
<p>She did two overnights at Smith, a year apart. The first one we dropped her off and then went off to have dinner with CC's estimable Sally Rubenstone. Earlier in the day we did go along on the tour. D set up all her own meetings and picked her classes to sit in on. We did tag along, by consent, with her meeting with the orchestra director. Glad we did, very impressive, he asked her to come back that evening and sit on stage during rehearsal.</p>
<p>There's a bit of a fine line between acquiring information, being a second set of eyes and ears, and staying the heck out of their way. Zig when you should zig, zag when you should zag.</p>
<p>D did a junior year spring vacation trip to California (both SoCal and the Bay Area). We arranged for her to sit in on just two classes--both dance classes (she's now minoring in dance)--by first contacting the admissions office and then the faculty member. In one, she actually participated in the dance class; in the other, she just observed because she couldn't stay the entire time. I agree with Carolyn that multiple overnights could be unproductive. She enjoyed decompressing during the evening and talking at dinnertime about her observations. The only overnight that she did was in the fall of her senior year at a school that competed strongly for the #1 spot.</p>
<p>Your D could find out if any kids from her HS are enrolled in the schools in which she's interested. They might be willing to spend some time giving her the inside scoop or even sponsor her for an evening (most likely in a sleeping bag on the floor).</p>