S21 would attend a school without officially touring the school, but he would want to see the area where the school is.
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Our D has said the same thing, that she couldnât choose a school sheâs never seen. Iâm not sure how accurate a picture sheâll be able to get if students arenât on campus, or if the school isnât allowing visitors, but we are planning to visit a few before she makes a final decision. Even if we are only able to go and walk/drive around the area, she wants to lay eyes on the place. Sheâs keeping her cards pretty close to the vest for now, but I think she has a handful of favorites and will be able to prioritize quickly once decisions are in.
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She can visit all but LMU and SCU. I think sheâs not considering SCU anymore but weâd really like to see LMU. Itâs where she got the biggest merit and perks but itâs also the farthest away and we donât know anyone who goes to school there. Iâve had great talks with fellow CCâers whose kids are there but itâs not enough. I donât know if virtual sessions will be enough to sell her on it when we can get on all other campuses. We are likely doing a trip to see three of them in late Feb and then whichever other ones she wants to see in April.
My question was more like - would not being able to see a campus in person eliminate it from contention> How can you even compare a school like that to a school where you can tour in person?
I have to think these schools that donât even allow prospective students on campus are going to suffer for yield this year. Bowdoin is one of those schools. Iâll be curious if they can get kids to commit.
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I think it really depends on how much one wants to attend the school in question.
If S really truly liked a school from what we researched and what he saw online then absolutely he would be willing to attend it sight unseen. That is exactly the case with Brown and Vandy for him. He saw enough of what he liked to have no problem attending them if given an option. Doesnât mean that sure some things he may not be as delighted with at either school (Eg cold weather) but that they are insignificant features in the bigger picture: an academic future with excellent teaching, strong career services, on campus living, travel abroad, and very reputable institutions.)
He tells me he can do anything for four years.
He is a very independent, adaptable, common sense kid who easily prioritizes his needs from his wants.
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Having been to Brown and Vandy⊠those are.two beautiful campuses. Not to mention 2 outstanding schools. I thing he will love either or both.
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D is undecided on major and her decision swings a lot on on fit - does she like the physical campus, the neighborhood. Does she vibe with the culture and the current students, etc. Weâve done our due diligence when it comes to majors offered, cool programs, career services, etc. but now itâs about the other stuff!
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So reading between the lines, you want us all to âstorm the castle.â 
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I donât think my daughter would. She had two schools that she liked from the online stuff but after visiting (both self tour/walk around campus by ourselves due to COVID) she nixed them. Why did she cool to the schools after our walk around? Not sure, but it was a pretty immediate reaction on her part.
Luckily, she has visited everywhere she applied so sheâs going in with some personal knowledge, but seeing her eliminate schools after positive online events and positive HS AO visits (junior year) would make her (and me) gun shy about committing without at least walking around.
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Excellent! That is icing on the cake then bc the schools themselves blow S (and us) away!
Given what you described then it probably doesnât matter what any of our kids would do as all that matters really is what your D feels comfortable and confident doing.
If she isnât comfortable making a decision to commit to a school without visiting then that is the only thing that really matters.
Let her gut guide her. And her if gut says a visit is a must then that gives you lots of info, and will mean some cuts to her list. And that is okay! 
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@homerdog Think that 123Mom123 has good input! I find it intriguing when people say, for example, that Richmond and Wake seem really similar on paper but feel completely different in person. I hope your daughter gets a chance to visit. Iâm an optimist and think that she may even have the chance to visit some of her California options in a couple of months as the vaccines continue to be rolled out.
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D visited a bunch of schools in summer/Fall 2019. Before we went she made sure each checked the âmust-haveâ boxes, but whether a school made her list or not was pretty much all about the elusive âvibeâ at each place. Recently she said one silver lining about college search during a pandemic is that youâre forced to look more closely at things like curriculum and programming. Of the two schools that were at the top of her list after visiting in person, one has stayed there, but she realized that the other â a great community with much to offer â wouldnât be ideal for what she wants to study. She also added a few places last spring that she hadnât previously considered because she fell in love with aspects of those schools that might or might not have even been mentioned on an in-person tour. She thought the specialized virtual content (far more than the basic info sessions) really indicated what was important or special about that campus. All that being said, she still wants to be on campus to gauge the âvibeâ before she makes a final decision!
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I wish colleges understood that their yield protection antics (deferrals and waitlisting) do not make the heart grow fonder. They defer 80% of applicants in EA after these students worked very hard to get apps in because they sought an earlier answer. The kids are then supposed to shower the colleges with love in the form of LOCI and however else they can manage?
Itâs almost like an unhealthy early dating relationship. Half these kids have never even seen these colleges because of Covid, but the expectation is that they âDemonstrate Interestâ and âshow loveâ if they want a spot. And they are essentially being asked to show love to a place that, in many cases, made them feel insecure.
Idk. For me it works the opposite. If a college doesnât like me (or my very high stats kid) enough and wants to âsee what else is out thereâ before accepting me/him/her/themâall the while expecting us all to kiss up to hopefully be noticed so we can pay exorbitant money to attend said institution? Yeah, no thank you. 
Maybe others feel differently. If youâre not sure about me, it makes me like you less, not more.
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My D will absolutely commit without stepping foot on campus. We have talked about it several times now. She actually is much more ok with it than I am. We are in seattle and she got in to Macalester EA. She is waiting on 8 others. The likelihood of visiting is so slim. None are in the northwest. I am just relieved that she is not more concerned about it. I suspect part of it is her not thinking she will get in to her reaches. She is wiser than I am!
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Ok friends S got an email surprise today. An alumni interview invitation for the big reach on his list, Dartmouth. We are West Coast people and not used to interviews. Any advice is welcome. 
This is probably the one place he would go without visiting.
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D21 will be attending Hamilton but has not visited.
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The neighborhood is nothing much around LMu. The school itself is beautiful and has a gorgeous view. If your D wants to do anything off campus, most things to do are driving distance away.
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Some random tidbits from D who interviewed for tufts, Claremont, pitzer and Wesleyanâ
Whatâs your elevator speechâ who are you?
What are you most proud of?
Specific questions about IB programâ why she chose certain classes.
What interests you about the school.
The what are you most proud of was asked in several interviews.
Good luck!
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Mine did. But what works for her (and me) is not necessarily what works for your D (and your family). And it wasnât her first choice of how to proceed. But her best shot was ED, and she was pretty confident that on paper it was going to stay #1 unless something pretty unexpected happened at a visit. So the visit would have probably given peace of mind but not been a deciding factor either way.
I think for some schools it is more important than others. Reed, Oberlin, Iâm sure others but some schools have a reputation for a pretty distinct vibe, and one that is not for everyone. So I think schools like that really benefit from a visit. Smith I feel kind of that way about, although D just told me a couple of days ago that if she didnât get into her ED she was going to ask me if she could ED2 to Smith. So that would have been a tougher choice.
I donât know that LMU is quirky enough I would say it needs an in person visit. However, if your D hasnât really seen any schools like that, then thatâs different too. IDK off the top of my head who is comparable, but for my personal example my D had toured BMC. Not exactly Smith, but she at least had some idea what she was getting into, having toured a womenâs college that I would place in the same rough ballpark as Smith. If there is a school your D visited that can at least give her a feel for the type, thatâs better than nothing. Iâm guessing similar size, and feel you can find somewhere not in CA she could visit to try to use as a proxy. But the CA location is a big part of the vibe for a school like that where you would be walking distance to the beach (if anyone walked in LA).
It seems like a perfect place to spend 4 years to me, especially since it is coming with perks she would get there. But Iâm not her. If she isnât comfortable, and she is excited about other choices, then thatâs probably your answer.
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I donât think D21 could commit to a school without visiting it, and thatâs partly because she had some pretty strong impressions of schools while tagging along when D19 was visiting schoolsâ-like Vandy wasnât for her. What she wants is a small LAC not in the middle of a city. Good to know. So we may have some last minute travels after the rest of the decisions come in, but weâre not going to get to them all.
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