<p>I pushed DD to do some visits the summer before her jurnior year. The main thing we got out of that is some respect/credibility with regard to each other. My suggestions gained some credibility, but not so much that she will actually apply at any of the schools I suggested. And I realized that it is pointless to push a small college in a small town.</p>
<p>We visited UChicago during Spring break junior year.</p>
<p>We didn't visit any colleges last summer. I suggested we visit colleges X, Y, and Z but she didn't show enough interest to say "let's do it.". I didn't push because I figured it would be ineffective to push when she wasn't interested and kind of dumb to get her interested in another expensive college. </p>
<p>We finally visited college X last weekend.</p>
<p>I can think of only one college where the visit might be said to be the reason for D's decision as to whether to apply. And one where I believe the visit makes D feel really good about the decision to apply.</p>
<p>Colgate-- where I would want to go if I were just starting college. D won't apply because it is in a small town (though she thinks her friends should consider it).</p>
<p>Rochester-- D was pleasantly surprised, but I don't think she will apply.</p>
<p>HYP-- visits didn't have much impact. D was intrigued with H and Y before visits and will probably apply. P-- better than expected but probably won't apply.</p>
<p>Williams-- small school in a small town, a nogo.</p>
<p>Chicago-- I expected to like it a lot, but didn't. It was just okay. Admissions seemed to be a little over-proud of the core. The tour guide didn't seem to realize that his left was our right. Students seem to enjoy the amenities of the city, and that made me wonder how much fun it would be for a student without spending money.</p>
<p>Daughter seems to think her list should be longer than HY, X, and state. We'll see. Any more visits we probably have to be after decision to apply.</p>
<p>Aren't smart kids fun? Our gifted son only applied to 2 elite schools plus our top flagship- he's happy there. He wouldn't apply to P, or even look at H when only a T-station away much less detour to look at... on the way to ... on the trip with H. We discouraged U of C for location- at that time I could see son running at night in all of the wrong areas. Can't make them do it. It would make sense for a top student to apply to several elite schools to increase the chances of getting into one of them. But- academic reputation is only one factor and if a student doesn't want the atmosphere at any given college they shouldn't go there, and therefore shouldn't apply. I agree that size of school/town matters. Hopefully the schools on your D's short list will be good fits for her, academically and otherwise- and that she loves her safety. So glad that is behind us.</p>
<p>Mom- back in the day (i.e. when we were young) it was not uncommon to show up on campus as a Freshman without having seen the place. People didn't fly around like they do now; parents didn't get involved like they do now; guidance counselors didn't assume that parents would take time from work to orchestrate an elaborate "college tour" just because the kid was home from HS for a few days.</p>
<p>Important thing is to get your kid excited about college; if at the end of the day, she applies to 5 or 6 places without visiting the world won't come to an end.</p>
<p>As long as your daughter has visited a couple of her top choices and her safety (just to make sure that the visit wouldn't convince her that she hates any of them), I think it's OK to let things ride. In April, if she finds herself needing to seriously consider a school that she didn't visit, she can visit it then.</p>
<p>My daughter applied to Wash U and Northwestern without visiting them, but if she had actually needed to consider them in April, I would have encouraged her to visit both campuses then. </p>
<p>Incidentally, given your daughter's apparent academic level (the sort where applying to Harvard and Yale isn't ridiculous), tastes (no small schools in small towns), and geography (Eastern half of the U.S.), she might want to consider Wash U and Northwestern, both of which are fairly big, in or near big cities, and a bit easier to get into than Harvard or Yale. Also, maybe Georgetown, Tufts, the University of Virginia, Brown, and, if she can tolerate a large school in a small town, Cornell. </p>
<p>In addition, in the safety department, if proximity to a large city is a plus, she might want to take a look at the University of Maryland at College Park even if you don't live in Maryland. Washington, DC, is only a quick Metro ride away, and many kids take advantage of it frequently, some even to the point of getting part-time internships there. However, I would strongly recommend that nobody should go to Maryland without visiting it first; although the campus is lovely and DC is great, the immediate area surrounding the campus is a bit icky, and prospective students need to see whether this would cause them to rule the school out.</p>
<p>Marian-- WUSTL is one of the schools that interests her that we haven't visited. Stanford is another (and it would be very easy for us to visit, but she hasn't said "let's go.) I've encouraged her to consider Rice because one of the things that attracts her to Yale is the residential college system.</p>
<p>The East Coast visits didn't happen out of an expressed desire to go to college in the East. As it happened, she wanted to visit a friend who moved East and I would only fund the trip if she also visited colleges.</p>
<p>How about U Penn? If your daughter has H & Y in her sights, then she might love Penn. It is a beautiful campus......separated from the city of Philly by a river you can walk across... excellent athletics to watch or participate in.... I think more kids who look at HYP should give more serious consideration to Penn. The kids there seem really happy and healthy. Easy train access to the airport......or train to NYC if one needs a BIG city fix. I was reminded of Note Dame in Paris......on this island in the middle of a city. When you are walking around the Penn campus, you really can't hear the city. Yes there are big streets on all 4 sides of the campus.....but, it is a campus in a city setting. And Penn just bought the big US Post Office campus right next door, so there is future growth potential. They really encourage combining interests for dual majors.... great school.....in my opinion.</p>