Money saving tips for college visit season

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm currently at a East Coast Ivy and I volunteer with an organization that works to mentor high school juniors and seniors. College visits are a pricey thing, especially if you will be doing more than one city. So here are a few tips that I give to the students I work with:</p>

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<li><p>If you are taking a train or plane, go for the student rates. If you don't see it on the website, call them and ask. Amtrak, Southwest and United all have great student rates. When I was visiting schools, I saved more than $300 by using the student discount feature with Amtrak.</p></li>
<li><p>In any major city, consider using a service such as Uber. It is much safer than jumping in a random cab. Those who do not know, Uber is an on call car service. The rates are a few dollars more than a cab but you everything is done via your phone, including payment so you aren't dealing with drivers and handling them money. The car is tracked by GPS at all times and the rate is upfront. Right now, Uber is offering a $20 free ride code (uberinlove), good for anytime. So plug it in now and use it later. Link: <a href="https://uber.com/invite/uberinlove%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://uber.com/invite/uberinlove&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li>
<li><p>Call your school and ask them if for affiliate hotel programs. For example, at U of Oregon, the difference at the Days Inn when mentioning you are visiting the school, is about $30 bucks a night. </p></li>
<li><p>Want something from the bookstore? Ask the Admission office if they are offering a voucher. Most of them will have something that offers at least a $10 discount. </p></li>
<li><p>Try to schedule your visits by listing and ordering the schools so that you can visit a minimum of two schools per trip. This will help you to structure your time and also to limit hotel fees.</p></li>
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2

<p>Good tips, but I have to disagree with spending extra $$$ on Uber in any major city where there are plenty of licensed cabs on the streets (so long as it’s not the wee hours). There’s nothing risky about an ordinary taxi in those circumstances. If you’re leaving a club at 4 am, Uber is the way to go, but that’s not part of the usual college tour!</p>

<p>I’d add using Priceline bidding to secure a hotel or motel or looking for one that’s 20 or 30 minutes from the school. The places to stay that are very close to colleges can cost more, even with a discount, because of their appealing location, but staying a little further out can save a lot and give you a chance to take better look at the area.</p>