<p>OK so DS, who is a rising HS senior interested in majoring in engineering, has narrowed down his list to the following:
Penn State
U Pittsburgh
Temple U
Villanova U
U Md (CP)
U Va
Va Tech</p>
<p>We have done formal visits at Penn State, Pitt and Maryland with tours of the engineering depts. We live in southeastern PA, so Temple and Villanova are local, and we can easily visit them this fall. We have previously done unofficial "drive in/walk around" type visits at UVa and VT, so we know what those campuses are like. We are trying to decide if it is necessary to carve out some time this fall for a formal visit/tours for these two, or wait until acceptance decisions are issued in the spring, which would mean we would need to go in April 2013. </p>
<p>To me, it seems like waiting might make things a little rushed in the spring. We may want to do sleepover visits then also, if there is not a clear cut favorite. I would appreciate any insight/experience others who have gone through it before may have on this.</p>
<p>Normally I’m against “I’ll wait until acceptances are in, then visit.” There’s a LOT going on in April, and some HS’s get really cranky about students taking time off then. But in your case I think it’s fine to wait. The only school you haven’t visited at all is just two hours down the road. Good luck with acceptances!</p>
<p>By the time our acceptances came in, it was too difficult to arrange visits to many schools as well. A lot of good candidates fell our of the race simply because we couldn’t visit.</p>
<p>I think it’s fine to wait at this point. LC82-son has seen the schools, and you don’t live all that far. Once acceptances and some idea of finances come in, then you can work out overnights and/or further visits, as the list should be narrowed to 3 or 4.</p>
<p>In our case D has seen - formally and informally - at least 29 schools. She may apply to some that she has not seen, but any future visits will have to wait until after acceptances. </p>
<p>Unless either of these schools want to see “demonstrated interest” I would wait it out.</p>
<p>Are either of these schools where “showing interest” is highly valued by admissions? If so, that could make the case for visiting sooner rather than later. We did some April senior year visits to schools we didn’t have a chance to see. It certainly is different visiting as an accepted or waitlisted student. It gives you a whole new perspective on the visit. And as much fun as the trips can be, by April they felt more grueling than fun, for me anyway.</p>
<p>Also consider doing visits in the fall or winter if he has other facets of school that may be important to him. For example, if he is interested in the classic football weekend experience he may want to visit 2 or 3 schools in the fall and go to a game. Or, if he’s into music or the arts or whatever he may want to visit at a time when he can attend an event and be surrounded by other students with similar interests that he may not have been able to interact with while on the official visits.</p>
<p>In my case, my D is a RABID ice hockey fan and dearly wanted to attend a school with a strong hockey culture. We visited 3 of her top choices during the early fall and winter and attended hockey games at those schools. Ultimately those visits were the most valuable in making her decision, in part due to the fact the we saw schools at a time other than the ‘dog and pony show’ and in part due to the atmosphere at the hockey games. Her initial number 1 dropped to number 3 as a result.</p>
<p>Some of those schools have rolling admissions so you will know if he gets in probably by November or so depending on when he submits applications. That will allow you to visit through the year as you want and not have to see everything at once in April.</p>
<p>With a couple big caveats I think the visits could wait until the spring. </p>
<p>Two bennies to waiting … waiting until after acceptances eliminates any “wasted” trips to schools to which your son is not accepted … and visiting all the school in the same time frame will make a for a solid comparison.</p>
<p>The two caveats … if your son has a major spring EC planning a spring trip may be tough (without an EC a trip to all the accepted schools during spring break is probably very doable) … second, if the school lists expands than fitting in all the schools could be tough.</p>
<p>I would wait. Visiting is not a consideration for acceptance at VA & VT. From your list of colleges, UVA may be a reach, but if accepted he can attend an accepted student day in the spring.</p>
<p>I think it depends on two factors: whether the school likes to see “demonstrated interest” and where your S sits wrt applicant pool. An applicant at the lower end of the pool may want to make a bigger effort. If you do visit it is probably worth seeing if the school does on campus interviews and setting one up and perhaps asking if your S can meet up with a current engineering student and go to some classes, maybe a sleepover? Someone mentioned some schools have rolling admissions. At those schools like Penn State it is better to apply early.</p>
<p>My S2 played varsity football so summer/fall visits were impossible. He applied to rolling admit/EA state u’s and had acceptances by Christmas. We visited in Feb.<br>
He seemed more interested in the visits once he knew he was accepted.</p>
<p>It’s a LONG way to Virginia Tech. I wouldn’t go there unless he is accepted and is seriously considering it.</p>
<p>I don’t think a visit to UVa is necessary now, either. The chances of admission for an out-of-stater are low, and there’s little there that most students would dislike. It’s a nice campus. Charlottesville is a nice community. I can’t imagine a student ruling out UVa on the basis of a visit. There’s nothing objectionable there.</p>
<p>I think it’s fine to wait on a couple of schools, especially if you think your son may not be accepted. The only caveat I would add is to make sure your son knows why he is applying to those schools, and what they have to offer him – my DS did find it harder to think/talk concretely about his interest in the schools he hadn’t visited yet, when doing his application essays.</p>
<p>We waited on a couple of schools, one of which we ended up visiting after he was accepted (and he ended up attending) and one of which waitlisted him and we knew he wouldn’t get a reasonable financial package off he waitlist, so we eliminated it and never visited. So, waiting saved us one trip. In the spring, we (re)visited all the schools that were still in the running – we had since ruled out a couple of schools for financial reasons, and one because the program my S was interested in turned out to be not really what he was hoping for when we looked deeper and learned some unadvertised details via attending a parent chat in early spring for parents of accepted students. He had originally applied to 8 schools, was accepted by 6 (and waitlisted by 1) and we visited 4 in the spring, 3 of which we had visited before. We were able to get all 4 visits into the April break. My DH took him to one school where I had taken him to visit during Junior year, and I took him to the other 3 (2 of which my DH had visited with him without me previously). It was an exhausting schedule of visits, but quite doable. It worked out fine and in the end my DS had an easier time making his choice than we’d imagined he would. We will probably make similar choices about delaying visits to some schools with our other kids.</p>
<p>As davh01 says, UVa and VT do not track interest. Have/had one kid at each in engineering. Both great choices for engineering (as are the other schools on your list). Since your son has already seen both campuses, it sounds like it would be fine to wait. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the good advice. I think we will wait. UVa is the most reachy on his list. He had a 2000 on his SAT (650M, 620R, 630W), and has a 4.30 weighted GPA. Neither are among his top 3 due to distance.</p>
<p>UVa would be a real reach, particulary out of state. Even VT usually wants to see at least a 1300 (CR and M) for engineering. But you never know.You do have good instate options so waiting does make sense since neither UVa or VT are his top choices. I think the campuses of Pitt, Penn State and UMD are all nice . Have not seen Villanova or Temple. He has a great list!</p>
<p>For VT I would suggest their Engineering Open House which is usually held in early April. You will already know if your son has been accepted. It’s going to give you a much more in depth look at the e’school then an accepted student day tour.</p>
<p>Here’s a link for the Open House which actually has last years information still listed so you can get an idea of what’s available:</p>
<p>You do have to make reservations. You’ll want to do this as soon as they open up so your student can get their first choice of tour. You can always cancel at a later date.</p>
<p>UVa also has an Engineering Open House, however it is held earlier in March and you won’t have an admission decision unless your son is applying ED. Here is the link where they will announce the date for 2013:</p>
<p>Thank you for the correction!!! I was literally rushing to finish the post so I could take my son to the ER (rolled his foot on the stairs, not a big deal but when you hear popping you get X-rays).</p>