<p>My daughter is a sophomore in HS and we are starting the college search a bit early because I want to not have to throw too much at her as her later high school years ramp up the work load.</p>
<p>My DD has expressed and interest in engineering and likes when things are hands on. I thought Olin would fit the bill and I wanted her to see for herself if this is a place she would like to aspire to.</p>
<p>The thing is the only time we can visit the campus this fall is during the Open House weekend. Now I know this may be premature and I told DD that this may be too detailed at this point. She understands that and knows that this is just a first step and there is no pressure attached to this trip. Plus she is looking forward to being in the Boston area.</p>
<p>I am looking for opinions on whether this will backfire on my DD and myself.</p>
<p>Sophmore visits where helpful to me. The Junior year is an important year, so the visits helped motivate me to work hard and set up for my Junior year push. I don’t know if the Olin tour itself will help. speaking for myself Olin is an “acquired taste” … I started with visits to places like the State shools (UMASS, UCONN & UVM) … and then took a trip to MIT and Princeton. those trips showed me that some of these schools are very special places… and the differences suddenly start to come to the surface. Visually, MIT is so different from Princeton and that started me thinking about what would be the right place for me…and eventually the path lead me to OLIN. If Olin was my first visit I would have been left thinking about a very tiny school. It was only after I saw the other schools did I appreciate its uniqueness & what it offers. I still don’t know if its the right answer for me…but I have grown to the point that I see it as truly amazing.</p>
<p>My D is at Olin. She went to the Open House both in the fall of junior and senior year. The first time she was somewhat ambivalent but interested enough to go again a year later. She had seen probably 5 other campuses by that time. She had formed opinions on size, urban-ness, campus feel, and so on to better think about Olin.</p>
<p>After her senior year visit she was so excited and it moved to her top choice. I think if we had visited during sophomore year, it might have turned her off. The maturity differences are vast. However, you know your D better than anyone. My best suggestion would be that if you attend and her interests are still in engineering in a couple years to visit again no matter if she loved it or disliked it to look at it with fresh eyes.</p>
<p>Both of these posters think it could be a drawback to visit so early, but I think (based on my son’s and others experiences) that could just as easily be an advantage. In sophomore year, it’s common to use college visits to narrow the field: big vs. small, urban vs. rural etc. If you go during the fall open house, maybe you can use the time to also visit 1 or 2 other campuses to get a feel for a more typical college experience (compared to Olin). Yes, students maturity level may change their “wish list” as they go through HS, but you just need to advise her to keep an open mind, let what she sees percolate, and then regroup in Junior year to think about what she “really” wants. Look–if she’s completely turned off by Olin, fine, there are many wonderful schools out there. If she’s ambivalent, then maybe she’ll change her mind as she continues to gain experience. If she’s over the moon, then she’ll know what she needs to do to make admission a possibility.</p>
<p>Both of my kids honed in on their eventual 1st choice schools in their sophomore years, and over time, added and subtracted choices and waxed and waned over how far ahead choice #1 was. I actually do think it helped them not stress about the visiting and the list making etc. All of their friends were frantically trying to make a list of schools they liked right up until application deadline time. Mine had their #1 choices clear, and would have been happy at any of the others on their list. Luckily, they each ended up at #1–and Olin was one of those! ENJOY the process…and keep calm :)</p>
<p>Olin is a niche-fit, so it may be too early to tell if it will make her list. But Open House might give her a good general feeling about affinity for engineering and project-based curriculum.</p>
<p>Each parent and student approaches the college process differently. We visited a few different types of college campuses while on various vacations starting in 8th grade. We rarely went to Open Houses or on official tours in the beginning. I started the hard core research when my DS was in 9th grade focusing on scholarship opportunities and engineering schools. My son got involved in the process the summer before junior year. We only discussed college stuff for 2-4 hours each Sunday so it didn’t become an obsessive topic for him. I kept any obsessing online with my CC buddies who maintained my sanity.</p>
<p>We went to a local talk about Olin before visiting. The only caveat I would give to an early visit is: Olin is small. D got excited about Olin from the talk, so the size of Olin was less of a factor when we actually visited.</p>
<p>Depending upon your D’s preferences (or developing preferences), size could turn her off to Olin before she has a chance to get excited about it.</p>
<p>One of the things I would do differently if I had another child going thru the college process - try not to fall in love with any school espec a ‘lottery’ school. Select 8-10 schools, a few that your child’s scores easily match, a few that match and a few reach. ALL MUST be affordable or don’t bother. Be realistic. Even a $20k a year loan equals $80k plus interest after graduation. Try not to answer the question everyone will ask - Which school is your first choice? Just say you’ll decide after you get your acceptances and fin aid.</p>
<p>My DD is a very mature sophomore and she knows this is just to get a taste of what is out there. I am being very frank with her regarding college selectivity and costs. Financially we are fortunate that she in an only child and I should be able to minimize college debt. That being said I will not just blankly write a check.</p>
<p>We found that summer prior to Junior year was a nice time to do some casual college visits. There’s not yet a lot of pressure to pick a school, so you can just get a flavor of which factors are important. We combined with our annual vacation visiting east coast relatives - did this with both kids. Then during spring break of junior year we toured other schools in CA, combining with a vacation visit to San Diego.</p>
<p>Thanks, Colorado_Mom. I noticed that you post quite a bit on tech school threads and your feedback has always been constructive.</p>
<p>Our itinerary is a BU tour on Saturday, followed by some time in the city and a Haunted Walking tour at night. Then the Olin Open house on Sunday. It should be enjoyable.</p>
<p>We live in Oklahoma, so we never made it to an Olin open house. The only time my daughter visited before applying was one day during the summer before her junior year. Some things she heard at Olin helped her frame her college search and define what she really wanted. </p>
<p>Sara enjoyed it and thought it was interesting but a little small from her. Superficially she enjoyed BU better, but my DD is an urbanite at heart.</p>
<p>She is definitely interested in engineering now.</p>
<p>There were a lot of people at the open house btw.</p>
<p>I don’t know if DD will be the caliber of student they are looking for, but I would love if she was able to learn engineering in a curriculum such as Olin’s.</p>
<p>WPI comes up a lot in discussions about project-based engineering curriculum. It’s a non-urban STEM school, quite different from BU. But it may give you some ideas.</p>
<p>Another non-urban STEM school worth looking at for summer camp idea is Rose Hulman. [About</a> Operation Catapult - Operation Catapult - Early Planning - Admissions | Rose-Hulman](<a href=“404 | Rose-Hulman”>Operation Catapult | Rose-Hulman)</p>