Honestly, if you have to, it’s fine to visit a college during the summer. Obviously, it’s better to go when students are there, but you can still get a good feel for the place when they aren’t. My husband and I both teach, so we couldn’t get away when school was in session (and we rarely have the same spring break as our kids, so we were even limited in that sense). So we did a short spring break trip, when most of the schools we visited were also on spring break as it happened, and we visited in the summer. All LACS (only one university). We still felt like we got a good sense of the places, and there were still enough people on campus to allow us to pick up on the vibes. Frankly, a lot of Covid restrictions were still in place in the spring, so on many campuses, we couldn’t go into classes, cafeterias, or many buildings. In the summer, many of those restrictions had lifted, so we were able to see more (including unoccupied dorm rooms, which are harder to see during the school year). So, to those of you who are worried about only having time to visit during breaks and in the summer – it’s really okay. It’s still worthwhile.
I do the same thing!
Edit to add: I look at restrooms in restaurants as well. It bothers me when I can’t get hot water in a restaurant restroom.
I think every college is different on different days. Go on a Friday and there may be few students in classes, on a football Saturday different than on a regular Saturday, on a Sunday very very different than a Wednesday.
I stayed at school in the summers and the campus was active all the time, but it was different than in the fall. Many of the people on campus were younger (high school or even younger) as they were doing sports and activities camps, some parents and students touring, football players, and some summer school students. The rec center was probably more active than in the school term (outdoor pool, lots of sports). It was definitely busier than spring break.
A couple of advantages to the slower season may be the availability of people to talk with. Professors may be more available, the students who are on campus may be less harried, dorms and buildings may be more accessible since they aren’t being used. You may lose a sense of vitality on campus but frankly until you are there as an actual student a visit won’t really replicate it.
We took our D1 to a campus visit over Christmas break (2012). The campus was dead but it wasn’t the week the campus was closed and a Professor in the degree my D was interested in was available to talk with. We talked for about an hour (I didn’t have enough money in a parking meter and got a ticket 
). She also met with the person in charge of coops. It was kind of like a private tour. She did not attend there.
When to visit colleges depends on your priorities. If the goal is to get a taste of student life in the next four years, you want to visit when the school is in session (and ideally, request to stay overnight in a dorm, if allowed). However, if the goal is to get a better understanding of the majors/programs/departments your kid is interested in, visit when the school isn’t in session may be a better strategy, because departmental staff and professors are less busy then and you can often spend more quality time with them one-on-one.
There is no right or wrong time to visit a campus because you never know what you’ll find when you’re there…for better or worse.
A few years back our family visited an Ivy twice in 3 days. The first time I was tied up at a conference in the area, so my spouse, daughter and my father went to see it. It has some good…some bad…stayed the “same” in interest level.
Saturday morning, we were driving within a mile of the school on our way home (at 8am), and decided to get the quick tour from the family…drive-by style. We decided to walk up to the new engineering building (which they had toured and was the intended major)…and the door was open. My daughter said “come look at this”… Nice builidng, very cool. As we’re wandering, a gentleman asked if he could help us (8am on a Saturday…he knew we didn’t belong). He proceeded to change our entire plan for applications…
He was the head of the 3/2 program at the school, and without hesitation told us not to plan on using the program. His program. He explained how LAC’s oversell the program, and how a combination of interest, grades, friends, activities, and a whole bunch of other things make utilization of the programs…HIS program… much lower than you’d believe. He gave some thoughts on the type of kids for whom they do work, and was amazingly open and honest. That wouldn’t have happened during the week…but our standing out and his having a few extra minutes literally changed the course of our reviews for every college.
You never know.
So true. Fwiw, my kid never worked for admissions in college. But one summer, he stayed on campus for a different job. He knew many of the kids working in admissions that summer, and they would often bring touring students to him when they had questions about things he knew a lot about. So yes, there is a great deal of serendipity on any given day.
One of the biggest complaints I see when parents/students visit in the summer is the HEAT. Barring three counties in the entire country, July is hot. We did some northeast schools in late August and good grief it was brutal. Add in buildings with no A/C and it made for some uncomfortable tours. I remember going to Holy Cross and the library and chapel had no A/C. The school had the front doors wide open to the library, giant fans set up in the main rooms, but still you couldn’t wait to get out of there. Flash forward to October when we made another visit, guess what, heat wave.
This drives my kids absolutely nuts. We got the scared vibe (more specifically, direct statements) from two tour guides at Amherst (AMHERST!) who very proudly stated that they chose Amherst specifically because they were too scared to take a math or science class ever again. Couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
I don’t check this thread often so just saw your link to the college tour sketch. Hilarious. I’ve been on ALL of those tours. So. Many. Times!
I suppose that sentiment exists there. But my daughter explicitly chose Amherst because she could be a premed and still load up in history and religion classes. She is more of the norm. And also have room to study abroad because that’s fun. And to take an extra semester of calc because…yeah, I’ll never figure that one out!
Oh, heavens yes. We did a northeast/southeast tour last summer, and it was MINIMUM in the 90s everywhere in the NE, and over 100 in the SE. The last one was a 1.5 hour tour (90% of which was outdoors over a mile), and I was sweating like a whatever.
But all for a good cause, I suppose.
The point is that the best time to visit any school is when you can and if you can! You can also do TONS of online research before and after, which is what my DD is doing now as she decides her final choice.
I think I know the library that student was talking about at UNC and it’s Wilson Library, which houses the special collections like the rare book collection, and is not a library that most undergrads would use, so kind of a weird thing to say, but not a library that a first year would usually go to anyway. The Undergrad library is right next door, and Davis Library is on the other side of the Student Union and has 8 floors. Both of those are in heavy use by undergrad students. Wilson is a really cool building, though, and has some really cool stuff.
Looking at the college commits for our NJ high school. So far Indiana University is the hot school with the most commits, mostly Kelley, one dance and one sports management major.
Also, if I had a child considering Rutgers this month, their current faculty strike would be a major negative factor.
If you’re considering schools, wouldn’t Rutgers become one of the least likely to experience interruption over the next 4 years for those entering in the fall?
Why would so many NJ kids head to Indiana over Rutgers, and pay $20k/year more? Same conference. Both are very large. Is it an acceptance issue (ie not getting into Rutgers)?
I doubt it. Rutgers doesn’t seem to be hard to get into for in-state residents with good GPAs. A friend’s D chose IU Kelley last year. Absolutely loves it. Beautiful campus, good school spirit, reputable program. Many kids want to get out of state (mine both did). Michigan is hard to get into OOS and Wisconsin has also gotten hard to get into. Rutgers is not as inexpensive for in-state students as other state schools, say UF or UNC, and is pretty stingy with merit aid.
Ease of acceptance is precisely why NJ students seem to want to go elsewhere, even when the alternative isn’t as good.
I love the choices your daughter is making! One of the most interesting people I ever met during undergrad was a religion major who was pre-med.
On the tour guide issue, I appreciate their honesty, but it’s really not a great look at any school IMO, let alone a place at Amherst.
I definitely would not recommend applying to Rutgers as OOS student. D23 was accepted into their Film Conservatory program in Mason Gross and did not receive one penny in scholarship or grant money. Was offered one loan. And this is a student who was accepted into BU, Vassar and Smith with significant aid and received merit scholarships from Mount Holyoke, DePaul and Ithaca.
Was a total waste of money and time applying there.