Going on our first set of visit to schools and have iternary planned but not sure if there is a beter way to do it. Trying to see as much as we can in 4 days. Leaving from Nyc on Monday driving up to Wesleyan then up to boston spending 2 nights seeng Tuffs and Brandeis snd then on to Amherst spending the night there then to Vassar and back to Nyc on Thursday night. Wanted to do
It without needing to stay overnight but your schedule in vassar does not allow it. Any suggestions ideas ? Are we doing it right? My daughter wants to see these schools but she is also interested in schools away which eill require plane rides. Appreciate any advise or tip we can get ! TYIA
any good book about college admissions will have a section about things to look for and ask on college visits. I know they cover it in the book “Admission Matters”.
thank you. Looking for suggestions about iternary- ? better way to do it ?
Can you provide a bit more detail? Broadly speaking the circuit makes sense but it’s hard to weigh in without knowing how much you’re trying to pack in to which day.
The route makes sense. There are 5 schools and 4 days–Monday through Thursday. I assume you are seeing Tufts and Brandeis both on Tuesday? That is doable if one offers a morning tour and one an afternoon and if the basic admissions info session and tour is all you want to do, i.e. thee wouldn’t be much time at these two schools to do much but the official tours. We primarily did one school a day but there were a couple of times when we did two in a day; it can be tiring and the second school may get short shrift but it is definitely doable.
yes, leaving NYC Monday morning to a tour in Wesleyan- 2.5 hours with info session, then heading back to Boston arriving Monday night. See Tuffs and Brandeis on the same day, stay the night and on Wed morning head toward Amherst college for a 2.5 tour/info session, cannot make it to Vassar on time so forced to stay the night somewhere in between, and do Vassar Thursday am and then head back to NY
If you are staying overnight anyway, any chance you’d want to see Smith, Holyoke, Hampshire or UMass? All in/near Amherst.
Don’t know anything about the other schools around. Worth seeing?
Make sure you look up the school’s net price calculator on the college websites. If the school is very much unaffordable then it may be best not to visit?
thank you mommdc
@misskumasama All are good schools “worth seeing”, but whether your daughter wants to see them will depend. Smith and Mt. Holyoke are all female, Hampshire is less traditional (check their website), UMass Amherst is a state flagship. If any of them appeal to your daughter, check them out while you’re in the area, but beware of visit burnout as well.
My comments are more general…
Unless she is trying to choose a school for ED, you may want to wait until she is accepted before you make the plane flight to visit far-away schools. She can show interest by requesting a local interview, going to the presentation if the school visits her HS, maybe going to a college fair that the college will be at etc.
My practical piece of advice is to get some kind of organization/folder system where you can store the pamphlets etc. you get from each school. Save campus maps/directions etc. in case you re-visit when it is time to make a final choice. After each school independently write down some impressions or comments you have on anything (the campus, the academic program…anything). The other practical advice we got from our S’s guidance counselor is to not visit any schools you are not willing to send your child to. If a school is too expensive, too far, or anything else, don’t visit. Better to let your D know your parameters up front than to have her fall for a school you know is not do-able.
My “mom” advice is to enjoy this process. It will seem like a hassle at times but these may be the last big road-trips you take with your D. Take the chance to enjoy her company, to see how her mind works, and to get a sense of what she is looking for. And always listen you your D’s opinion on a school before you state yours.
Great advice! thank you so much!
Everything @happy1 said.
See also this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1852042-just-starting-college-visits-tours-help-p1.html
U can technically come home after Amherst and skip the hotel. Then the next day you have a short drive to Vassar from NYC. If you want to have time to relax a bit, then I guess a night in Amherst would give you that
Looks pretty good to me. Are you living in NYC? If so, Vassar can be done another time.
Leaving this Monday? No one up here knows what snow to expect. Even last week, the recent snow wasn’t predicted.
Forgot to add: have fun along the way, even if it’s just a nice lunch. And imo, after one or two “info sessions,” they all start to feel the same. Don’t be afraid to ignore them or ditch out, maybe spend a little more time where the students are.
We always found it helpful to wake up in the city of the college we were going to see that morning, even if it meant late night traveling. And to have lunch on campus.