Hi everyone–
I’m a rising senior with about 7-8 LACs in mind, 4 of which I think I could potentially apply ED to. I’m starting to plan overnight visits for those 4 in early/mid-September, so I can (hopefully) get a really good feel for what the academic/social scene is like at each school well before the ED deadline comes up.
I have some questions about the overnight visits. For example:
-I’d love to sit in on some more classes! Are overnight visitors generally allowed to sit in the morning after they sleep over? I’d assume so, but I have no idea.
-What are some of the most important questions to ask my host?
-Any dos/don’ts?
I guess my only concern is the time of the year I’m going at. I have no days off in October, and only a couple in November, and I really don’t want to miss more school than I have to, so September it is. Do you think the vibe of the school at the very beginning of the year is seriously different than it is in, say, the middle of the year? It’s not like I have a choice here, but I’m still just wondering.
Any answers/tips would be highly, highly appreciated! 
We did a bunch. They were all very flexible. September is a great time to go.
Ask the questions that are most important to you and don’t hold back.
Go to some parties if you can.
Thanks so much! I definitely won’t hold back–it’s probably my only chance to see what the school is really like. In your experience, what kinds of specific questions yielded the most informative answers?
I will have to ask him when he gets home. We did them last fall, September - October. Several were on the weekends. Maybe some of the schools you are going to
We did a bunch also, and they were super. Just remember that it is a sample- and if the people you are with aren’t your cup of tea, don’t be afraid to ask if they know anybody who [insert something important to you].
Also, look at the overall student population. For example, D2 thought it was telling that at one college, on the first day back from spring break, everybody in the lunch room was eating in 1s and 2s- no groups, no greetings to people just getting back. D1 ruled out a college b/c the students were so homogenous- not by race & ethnicity, but a North Face / Hollister,uniform! With D3, her Dad was amazed at how many students were studying in the library on a beautiful September Saturday afternoon.
So true! I’ll be on the lookout for little (but telling) details like those. Thanks to both of you!
Consider trying to maintain some consistency across schools in terms of what day of the week you visit. My son visited one school on a Sunday overnight to Monday class and took a very different impression from the school he did a Thursday overnight and Friday class. (The fact that he was offered weed on a Sunday night at one school gave him a bit of a window into the soul of at least some of the students . . . ). Use those visits as a time to interview. My son interviewed the day after the actual overnight, the same day when he visited class – which gave him a much more concrete basis to talk with the interviewer. Most LACs make it pretty straightforward to visit classes on an overnight. Some have a list of classes you can visit, some leave it to you to search and find. My kids emailed the prof to request permission to attend, especially since most of the classes were under-20 person seminars. My younger one, a rising senior, was reassured by the accessible level of a freshman seminar at one LAC, made him feel like he would belong comfortably, in the intellectual community.
Bring a sleeping bag and a bath towel! And a computer and phone charger.
And I agree, I continue to be amazed during our spring visits this year, of how full the library was on a week day morning or afternoon. Definitely not my experience of college . . . .
Thanks so much! That all makes sense. If I can, I’ll try to go at the same times of the week. And I’ll definitely look into the classes to see what I can do there.