<p>Tootiredmom - Welcome!</p>
<p>We did several college visits last summer in the northeast between my daughter's sophomore and junior year because we were going to be in that part of the country anyway that we knew might be difficult to get back to over the course of junior year. This worked VERY well for us.</p>
<p>The first couple of visits for my D. were kind of a shock. She needed time to get used to the whole idea of what a college dorm would look like, how she felt about larger and smaller campuses, etc. The visits in the summer were PERFECT for this as she didn't also have to contend with the intimidation of interacting with masses of college students and faculty as well. We did a combination of drive by's, tours, formal admissions presentations, and, at the insistance of one small school, an informal interview. It all worked out very well because there was NO pressure on daughter to make any decisions about picking a particular school or even decide what type of school she might like at that point. It also allowed us to talk a bit about what she thought she liked and didn't like in general terms.</p>
<p>Over the course of the year, we have made several visits to other parts of the country - a weekend to northern California, a long weekend in Oregon, a spring break trip to the midwest. It's been interesting to see her confidence develop over these trips. I think she really needed to first have some low pressure visits so that by the time we were really looking at schools that were great possibilities for her, she was ready and excited about talking to students one-to-one, sitting in on classes, meeting with professors, and handling actual interviews with admissions on our most recent trips to the schools that mattered MOST to her.</p>
<p>I think that starting early was a plus for this reason.
(although I must admit both of us feel a little burnt out on college visits at this point!). </p>
<p>The advice I would give is to NOT start with schools that you think your son might actually end up having as first choice schools. Just pick several schools at random - a large state univ., a smaller LAC, a private university. Let him just get used to being on a college campus at this point. Save the trips to the schools he is likely to LOVE for later in the process, when he will be more ready to actually do things like approach students in the cafeteria and talk to faculty members. If you are lucky enough to find a school son likes, stress that he needs to find OTHER schools like it, not focus exclusively on that school at this early point.</p>
<p>That's exactly what happened for my daughter - one school we visited last summer clicked with her --- which made it easier for us to focus in on a TYPE of school we were looking for. Interestingly, while that original school is still on her list at this point, and she probably will end up applying there, it is no longer her "Dream school" as she has found others she likes better. I have wondered if we had seen that school later in the process if she might have it higher on her list --- the memory of it has been somewhat eclipsed by all of the other schools we've visited since then!</p>
<p>But yes, there's nothing wrong with an initial foray over the summer between sophomore and junior year. I will probably do the same thing with my son next year.</p>
<p>Finally, keep in mind that what your son likes and doesn't like at this point is very likely to change as the year progresses and college begins to seem more real. I have been amazed at some of the changes in my daughter this year and I fully expect that she will change yet again over the course of next year before she finally sends in her acceptance envelope somewhere.</p>