<p>I'm a rising junior now thinking about colleges and the admissions game. As I look into colleges and my choices, I have realized that visiting these places firsthand would really help me in deciding which schools I actually fit into. </p>
<p>I suggested to my mom that maybe this winter break, she and I could go on a college tour in the form of a road trip or whatnot, exploring my interests and finding which kind of environment fits me best. She asked me if this was truly necessary - that college should not be about location, but rather what you get out of it. IMO, her idea of college is pretty dull and, for me at least location and environment MATTER. </p>
<p>I guess my mom's notion of a college being a place solely for education comes from the fact that she was pressured to study beyond high school by her parents when she was younger. I've been trying to tell her that college is different from high school by a far mile and that location, environment etc... certainly matter. </p>
<p>As of now the only thing that I have said to persuade her is that a visit to these places is necessary because this is where I will be spending another span of my life- this time without parents and the support I had in high school. </p>
<p>Haha, I feel like I wrote too much on a subject really not worth discussing about, but if anybody is willing to help, what kind of things should I say to my mom to convince her that a college visit IS necessary?</p>
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because this is where I will be spending another span of my life
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<p>You should visit after you get accepted. There's no guarantee you will be spending a span of your life at any of these schools. With high gas prices and all, you'll save a bunch of money. Read up about colleges to decide where you think you want to apply and wait until you get into schools to start visiting.</p>
<p>College visits before applying are not necessary.</p>
<p>Some suggestions: go to one of the bookstores with coffee (Barnes & Noble-Borders), sit down with magazines and books, and then show her one of the "how to maximize your road trip" books from the college section. </p>
<p>Mention in passing that one of your friends just got back from looking at X school, and said that the tour showed some really ratty dorms with wiring problems. A few weeks later, mention that another friend saw an unusual number of drug and alcohol warnings on a bulletin board at Z school when she visited (make sure these aren't schools you want to see ha ha). You could bring up that some schools have department days where you get a feeling for a particular major and the classes that are required at that school. </p>
<p>Focusing your request to visit schools more narrowly would be helpful. For ex., having an opportunity to talk to some current students to find out if they have any problems getting required classes is clearer than just wanting to take a road trip to see what schools "look" or "feel" like. Your goal is to help her understand that this isn't about the fun of a road trip (although it would be a chance for good Mom-Jr bonding before you go off to school), but it's a way to help you make the most informed purchase of your college education. You wouldn't want to buy a house or a car without looking at it, right? A college education can cost $100K +/-, so the more info you have the better.</p>
<p>See if there are any local colleges with tours. Once she starts to see how many kids and parents show up and can compare the differences between visits to two schools (especially when there are presentations), she'll realize how important the visits might be.</p>
<p>Talk honestly with her about whether the objection to the road trip is financial or if she's concerned about vacation time or driving long distances (not in anger, do it when everything is great). See if you can find some compromises. Perhaps you could visit the local schools now, and visit further schools after admission.</p>
<p>My D is also a rising Jr. She wants to go see every school. I'm willing to use some of my vacation time to take her to schools that she's already researched, but I don't want to just spend time driving around. Between gas and hotels, a road trip has become very, very expensive.</p>
<p>College visits are very helpful. Sometimes a school that looks wonderful on paper might disappoint you, or a school that you are considering dropping form your list may impress you, and you just fall in love with it. That makes all the difference. You DO need to choose a place where you will feel comfortable for four years.</p>
<p>However, college visits can be expensive if you are visiting out-of-state colleges (time, airfare, gas, lodging, food, etc.). I know this is why my mom is not taking me to see all the colleges on my list. If I could offer advice, it would be to read as much as you possibly can about colleges online and in books (Fiske, Princeton Review, Student's Guide to Top 100, etc.). My list during the summer before junior year (one year ago) was quite different than it is now, since I've done so much research since then. Ask yourself questions such as: big school/small school? liberal arts/university? liberal/conservative/mixed? After you've narrowed down your list, try to visit some of your favorites. If some schools on your list are geographically close to one another, lump them into a single visit to save time and money (believe me, you will NOT want to miss a lot of school if you are taking a difficult course load your junior and senior years! Too much to make up). If you have reach schools or schools that might not give sufficient aid, wait until March or April when you find out if you got in and if you got money, and then plan last minute visits to those ones.</p>
<p>I think you definitely have the right idea in telling your mom that you want to be sure you're comfortable with your college choice before making a commitment. College is certainly not just about career placement. It's where you are living for four years. Just understand that it's often difficult for parents to take off work, dish out money, etc. for college visits, so you should probably begin narrowing your list based on books and online information. I hope I helped.</p>
<p>Convince your mother that a college road trip now could ultimately save her money; if you make the wrong decision and end up transferring because you applied to the wrong schools (because of her!), then she'll end up shelling out mad cash for relocation, new applications, etc.</p>
<p>any university can look really good for a few days- it's simple psychology. looking at a bunch of buildings in-person does nothing for you. location, however, is very critical in choosing a university as it suggests the culture that for four years will shape for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>This fall many colleges will probably visit your area. Maybe you could go with your mom to some of these "road shows" to start getting a feeling for the characteristics of different schools. Also, I would suggest making an appointment with your guidance counselor for both you and your mom as soon as the school year starts. You can talk about your college list and see what the counselor recommends as far as visiting. </p>
<p>Our personal experience was that my D and I went on two road trips, one during Spring Break of her junior year and one in May right after her school ended. Prior to going on these trips I don't think my D had a good idea of what size or location she wanted or even what majors she might be interested in. The visits really helped her narrow her focus and discover what she was interested in. Our trips were rather expensive but we saved money by using frequent flyer (really credit card) airplane tickets, public transportation and less expensive hotels. </p>
<p>You seem to be off to a good start and you write well too. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks! I have already visited some of these "roadshows" but it's mostly composed of community colleges and state schools, not that they are not worth considering but they are nothing new. </p>
<p>Neonzeus, I think it may have something to do with financial problems - both of my sisters are going to college this fall and maybe that has pressured her a little bit. Maybe I should postpone my plans or like many of you have suggested, visit after admittance.</p>
<p>Are you by chance involved with clubs at school that might be going on trips to competitions at university campuses? For example, Rice and Texas A&M organize math contests for high school students. Then you get to tour the campus while you are there for the contest. My D's latin club also went to UT Austin for a field trip. </p>
<p>Maybe you could wait and bring up the trip idea in a few months when things have settled down a little with your sisters. Are they attending somewhere you are interested in? You can always visit them.</p>
<p>Collegiate Choice sells DVDs of college tours - these can be useful.</p>
<p>You need to talk some more to your mother - if she has particular ideas about colleges, will she apply limitations to which ones you can apply to? Limitations on where you can attend? Get these details sorted out now, especially any financial considerations.</p>
<p>The Dilemma: As a rising junior, I don't think you are in a time crunch.
I am a rising senior and my dad isn't too keen on the whole college visit thing either. And honestly, it can be very pricy and time consuming...depending on how many colleges you want to visit and how far out they are.</p>
<p>My Compromise: But I had to strike up a deal with him. Once (and if) I get admitted to the colleges that I am really interested in, he will take me to visit three or four of them. Which is pretty good because I'm allowed to apply for six paid applications (some of my fees are being waived). Now I realize that getting a head start can definitely be beneficial on knowing WHAT schools you want to apply to, it would definitely stink to apply to a school only to realize that you hate it on first glance. But with the way things are going with financial tightness, I think that's a risk worth taking. </p>
<p>My advice: Just reasearch as much as you can, look up online tours. I've actually found that some students post worthwhile videos on youtube (though the useful ones can be hard to come by). The college visits section of CC has also proved to be insightful. Make sure you are on mailing lists and become familiar with the college websites. If you have a facebook, I actually look at some of the groups students have made for their schools. Yeah it may seem weird, but often times they post great pictures of the schools and dorm rooms, and I can get a very small sampling of what the student body is like.</p>
<p>Remind your mother that you are not just looking for a school, you are looking for a home. Would she buy a house without looking at the neighborhood?</p>
<p>That being said, you can visit some schools to get an idea, and save the far-away (ie expensive) visits for after acceptance.</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat - I'm a rising junior and I've only recently begun my college search. My mom thinks college tours are a waste of time and gas, and there's the added problem of location: we live in Ohio, but all of my schools of interest are on the East coast. We've made a compromise to visit a few colleges on weekends during the school year, but I will, for the most part, apply first and then visit colleges if accepted. IMO it makes more sense to eliminate colleges before applying rather than after, but my parents are paying for my applications, so it's really up to them.</p>
<p>College trips before applying are not necessary, but are certainly very helpful. I think it is probably more important to visit schools after you have been accepted (if you can't do both). It is important to visit, if you possibly can, because each school does indeed have a different "vibe" and opportunities of interest to you might be expanded/shrunk by a school's particular location.</p>
<p>If you are just starting to look at colleges now, perhaps you could put together a tour of schools closer to your home as that would keep costs down. They would not necessarily be schools on your potential list. By first visiting a wide variety of schools (big state university/small LAC, rural/urban setting, etc.), my son was able to pretty quickly focus in on what kind of school he was looking for. That made it much easier to identify schools that had those particular characteristics when it came time to apply. (He ended up applying to only one of the 5 schools we saw on that first trip.) Visiting a variety of schools may also help your mother to understand the big differences between schools and why choosing a school that is right for YOU is so important.</p>
<p>Remember, there are people who never see the college they attend till they move in. Some are happy where they end up. Others are not. There are also people who visited their future schools multiple times and still don't like it after freshman year. Visits are nice, but they are not necessary for picking the school with the best education. It's a nice way to differentiate between colleges that are basically the same on paper, but you can worry about that after getting admission.</p>
<p>I disagree with the mother entirely! Over april vacation of my juinior year I visited many of the schools I always assumed I would be applying too, and had my whole impression of dream colleges changed. Both Georgetown and GWU were high on my dream college list, but after a tour and information session at both I no longer felt the desire to apply. Visiting colleges gives someone a real sense for the type of student that attends, and whether or not you would feel comfortable living there. I firmly believe that a college should be visited before and after applications.</p>
<p>nothing too new here. I also agree visits before applying can be helpful but are not necessary (I'd say after acceptances visits are VERY IMPORTANT). What I would suggest, and what we've done with our kids, is, before applying, visit local schools ... small/large ... city/suburban/college town ... LAC/research school ... highly selective/easier acceptance ... lots of frats/ no frats ... to get a better idea of what type of schools you prefer. I'd also suggest visiting any school to which you are considering applying ED.</p>