My daughter has applied to a number of schools in Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. We live in California.
We want to tour each, and she’d like to arrange overnight visits at as many as possible, so we’re trying to work out a schedule. Most of the schools do overnights for admitted students only, and of course, we won’t know until the very beginning of April where she’s been admitted.
So I guess we go ahead and start scheduling a trip, but try to keep things as flexible as possible.
I’m just not sure how closely I can pack these school visits! I see professional tours that do two schools per day for 3 or 4 days in a row, but that doesn’t seem to give much time to appreciate the different experiences.
Is it feasible to do overnights at 3 schools, three nights in a row? Or is that too much for a prospective student to digest?
Her spring break is from Saturday April 8 until Monday April 17 (the 16th is Easter). We can stretch it afterwards, I suppose, but not too long - she has to prep for AP testing in early May.
Here’s where she’s applied:
Maine
Bowdoin
Bates
Massachusetts:
Amherst
Smith
Mt. Holyoke
Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr
Dickinson
Is it hopeless to try to do this in one long trip? Should I just give up and schedule a trip in March and one in April?
It makes more sense to plan the trip after you have the admissions decisions and those should start coming out in mid March. That being said, it is probably not feasible to do overnights , 3 consecutive nights in a row, and you really can’t plan them until you get the decision. For now, I would encourage your D to gather as much info on the schools as possible and come up with a pecking order. That may help to narrow things down once decisions are in.
Odds are she either won’t get into all of them, or, if she does, that she’ll be able to narrow the field so she only needs to visit some of them once she knows her options.
We were in an analogous situation last year with schools the kid was interested in on both coasts and in between, and just waited until all the decisions were in and worked it out from there. Many of the schools have information up on the timing of admitted students days/weekends, so I had all those in my calendar, and knocked them off for the no’s and then figured it out from there. (Also, a lot of them put out decisions BEFORE 4/1.)
One difference is that you can (if you have the stamina) drive amongst the listed schools, so could theoretically just purchase flights to Boston or NY now, and figure out the details later, but I might still be inclined to wait. Your needs will be different if you’re visiting 7 schools (which I don’t recommend – try to eliminate some on paper) vs. 3 schools.
Also wouldn’t necessarily recommend focusing too much on a pecking order … that can be a setup for disappointment.
First…you should check the school schedules. Many schools don’t have classes on Good Friday, and their offices will be closed that day, Saturday and definitely Easter Sunday. If that is the case…your actual days to visit schools is reduced.
In addition…it’s a bit of a schlep from Maine to Pennsylvania. I’m not sure I would try to see all of these and especially do overnights…at 7 schools in what will likely only be from from April 8 to April 13 because of the Easter holiday.
Has she not seen any of these schools or the areas yet?
Keep in mind also, many schools only allow accepted students to do overnights…so you might have to wait.
If it were me…I would wait until she is accepted…and then schedule visits to her top three choices only.
A couple of things to note for the potential visit to Maine for people from California (my son is a senior at Bates). First, it’s unquestionably a PITA to get there. (Now think about your child making that trip approximately 16 times over the next four years, mostly during the worst possible weather.) Second, April is known locally as Dead Season and for good reason. We visited in late April and it was snowing during the campus tour. Anyway, the point is that it won’t be “spring” in Maine until after your daughter has to make a decision. I would also advise prioritizing class visits over overnight stays, and try to find a class where there will be some discussion happening instead of a lecture. A good seminar is eye-opening for a lot of high school students. Note that Bates didn’t use to permit class visits, but they may have changed their policy.
I agree with others that you really shouldn’t visit until she gets acceptances at this point. My kid also attends Bates, and in your shoes, should she get admitted to Maine and Mass schools, that’s a pretty easy drive. If she expects to hear from all schools in mid March to the end of March, I personally can’t see how she will find time to visit any more than three. She should visit her top three choices. If PA schools end up in the top three, I think you should consider a flight to Philly or Harrisburg from Boston.
An accepted students visit should be a whole day thing. Dickinson for one will create a customized day visit based on her interests. They did an excellent job for my D. I expect other colleges do the same. Be sure to give enough notice, a week’s notice is the minimum. There is no need to specifically attend accepted students days and if you don’t have time to do those, don’t fret. The schools want her to enroll so call the AO and discuss how to make the time work for you. My kid personally preferred the customized visit over the accepted students days. Overnights are also not essential IMO. Many students like them, and yes, they can be useful. But they aren’t necessary. Your D should talk to plenty of kids while visiting. She can ask about night life on campus.
Niche is a good site for students to get a good idea of campus culture, academics, and more. Many colleges alos have parent volunteers who will make,themselves available for questions. I talked to several parents when my D was making her decisions, I found that useful. And your D should find student volunteers who are willing to talk to prospective students so that she can narrow down her choices.
BTW, I am a three college a day person when doing initial visits. I just find it a better use of time. But probably NOT for admitted student visits, when they are thinking of their final choices. I do think most of a whole day should be spent at the final three.
Bates did permit class visits last year (and was one of the few that did OV for students who had not yet applied - but only on specific days in the fall, so that’s unlikely to be helpful for OP.)
In any case, I would wait until decisions were in hand then do my best to schedule around admitted student days. You can check dates on websites to see if any of those are falling in place with your schedule. They tend to be well-run with the idea of making as much available to you as possible so that you can make a good decision. And I know that some schools (Dickinson is one on your list) do Saturday events, often with something Friday evening, that effectively add a possible day to the schedule.
As for 3 OV in a row, yes, too much. Usually, when the schools do them, they have kids arrive Sunday afternoon, have some activities (and scheduled meetings with coaches, etc. If relevant ), then Monday morning classes and shuttle to airport on Monday afternoon. DS came home like a dish rag every time.
Fwiw, every time we visited 2 schools on one day, DS felt negative to ho-hum about the afternoon one. Could have been coincidence, but the exhaustion factor, coupled with the different energy on campus in the afternoon, really made it hard for the afternoon schools to get a fair shake.
Also remember that when you’ve been accepted, the school may be able to accommodate a “make a day” request (again, Dickinson does this) that would be impossible to do for applicants.
Lastly, I am going against the wisdom of most posters here and will suggest that you visit all of the ones where she’s been accepted unless she knows for sure she would not attend one given her options. In DS’ case, visiting with the very intentional framework of “what would it be like to come here 4 months from now and live here for 4 years?” was very different from “does this seem like a good school for me and should I apply?” And seeing so many options really crystallized what felt best. It seems like you have the time…
PA, MA, and ME is a bit of a stretch. MA and ME together is workable. You would need to allocate more days to the PA leg to make it enjoyable IMO. Otherwise the schools are all crammed together.
Too many visits, too packed, can turn a kid’s processing to mush. And sometimes, for regular visits, you can have trouble getting from the morning visit to the 2nd school, before the last tour. (So check that sort of thing.) And on a non-OV, you do not need to go to each school’s info session.
Bates is about an hour from Bowdoin. For a regular visit, you could stay in Brunswick and later get over to Bates for a day. (But the only overnight D1 did was Bates and that sealed the deal.) I will say Brunswick is a little more hopping, for an overnight (Maine’s nicely laid back.)
It doesn’t always snow so late. (They just got 2 feet, but realize New England folks know how to shovel and clear walks. And rooves, lol.) I think the bigger threat is mud season (but that’s more whine than trouble.)
Monday, April 17 is Patriot’s Day (state holiday in MA and ME and Marathon Monday in Boston) - Boston colleges are often closed. Also, public school vacation is that week, so flights from Boston or Portland to CA might be crowded/booked. Don’t know about PA school schedule.
OH yes, and one more thing on OV which @lookingforward reminded me of… If you are going to do one, try to do more than one if possible (although not back to back.) DS also fell in love with one school as a result of OV in the fall. When he was offered OV by accepted schools and took them, he realized that a lot of what he loved about the first school was something that was not unique to the school but to the OV experience. I agree with @Lindagaf that a day around current student can provide a pretty good read on the vibe, and that should probably be a good part of the focus for the visit.
These are all excellent schools and if they offer programs that appeal to your DD, that is unlikely to be the determinant. This is all information that can be (and probably already has been) gleaned from the websites. I feel that at this point, it is more about choosing an environment where you think you’ll be happy living and learning. For that reason, don’t rush it. She’ll want to go to some classes, eat in the dining hall, hang in the student union, and otherwise just try to get enough information to figure out if this could be “home”.
Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think I’d counsel waiting to see what the real options are, then narrowing the field, then visiting no more than three or four.
@Terramar - your child has almost the same list as mine did with the exception of the all girls schools like Smith. Though we live on the East Coast, we still had to figure out how to logistically do the trip (we live near DC). So, we figured out the northernmost school, Bowdoin, and then with the help of mapquest, figured out the order of the schools, working our way back down to DC. We only did 8 schools, two per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Of course that means that they need to be relatively close, but the schools on your list are somewhat clustered together. At the end of the day, we usually drove to the next morning’s school and had dinner in that town. We then went to bed and got up already at the school and ready for the day ahead. We didn’t make hotel reservations ahead of time, just used the hotels we had relationships with via past stays and called whichever one happened to be close by the school. We were not looking for fancy, this was not a vacation, but we were looking for clean. Being together on the road for those four days was a great experience though the schools did tend to morph together after awhile and the pace can be brutal. You need to determine ahead of time if your child has the personality for this kind of trip. Even my laid back child became fried during all the information sessions, tours and interacting with students packed into such a tight schedule. Funny, she ended up attending the one school she refused to look at on the tour - one because she had been there many times with me and second, because she did not want to “jinx” her admission chances. However, seeing the other schools did make her much more satisfied that she ultimately made the right choice.
Too much handwringing here. Northampton/Amherst MA to Bryn Mawr PA is a 4-hour drive, maybe a bit longer if you have to go through traffic. I think you could see all of the colleges in six days comfortably, and you might be able to get it down to five if necessary. (I wouldn’t focus on overnights, however.)
Day 1 – Red-eye to Boston, drive to whichever Maine college you want to see first (< 2 hours). Visit Maine #1.
Day 2 – Visit Maine #2, at most a 20 minute drive from Maine #1. Drive to Northampton MA (< 3 hours).
Day 3 – Two of the MA colleges.
Day 4 – Third MA college, drive to Bryn Mawr.
Day 5 – Visit Bryn Mawr, drive to Carlisle (< 2 hours)
Day 6 – Visit Dickinson, drive to BWI, Dulles, or Philadelphia (< 2 hours, a little longer to PHL) to fly home
Of course, I agree with everyone else that by April 1 (and probably at least a week earlier than that), some of these colleges may be off the table. (Statistically, there’s a good chance you may not have to visit Amherst. You know that already.) Even if your child gets admitted to all of them, your focus will change. (It is pretty uncommon for people to pick Dickinson over Amherst or Bowdoin, unless there’s a ton of merit money on the table.) So a six-day timetable (or seven days) would not be pressured at all, and you could give each college under real consideration a full day’s attention. Which is plenty – these are not huge, sprawly campuses.
If Day one is April 8, then I would suggest you plan to see both Maine colleges that day. The admissions offices, tours and the like are NOT usually open on Sundays. You can check to see. But that might be tiring after a red eye. Any chance you could leave CA on the 7th?
Or visit both Maine colleges on the 9th and drive later in the day to Northampton.
Then you would take April 9 to drive to the Northampton area.
Visit two MA colleges on the 10th and the other on the 11th. Then drive on the 11th to Bryn Mawr.
Visit Bryn Mawr on the 12th. Then hop in the car and drive to Carlisle.
Visit Dickinson on April 13.
That would complete your trip BEFORE the Easter weekend…when again…many offices at the schools will be closed. Check to see if this is true.
But I don’t think overnights are going to be possible with this schedule…at any of the schools.
If there is one Sunday when tours may be running, it will be the Sunday in April after all of the admissions results have come out and before Easter. I bet if you are an admitted student from California, with advance planning, you can get someone to pay attention to you on that Sunday even if regularly scheduled tours aren’t running.