<p>glido, my impression is that the OP is more concerned with figuring out that the school would be a good fit without having to spend a lot of money to visit, not with figuring out “how to show the love.” IOW, this is about whether the school fits the kid, not whether the kid impresses the school at this point.</p>
<p>Of the schools on the list, Tulane is one of those where I think it might engender a strong response – I can see myself here or I can’t – you’ve really got to be comfortable with the whole NOLA environment and feel, it’s a unique city. In that regard, Tulane is different from any other comparable school that is in or near a more “generic” city.</p>
<p>Longhaul, USC is one of those schools that I think no student should attend without visiting before their decision is made. The surrounding neighborhood is grim. My friend’s daughter was an athletic recruit with USC as her first choice…until they drove to the campus and she was stunned.</p>
<p>We decided to visit Claremonts (at least officially tour 2, maybe up to 4), Oxy and if time maybe USC. We’ll have 3 full days in Claremont (excluding travel days).</p>
<p>Then we will stop in San Antonio for Trinity on the way home. We’ll have 2 full days in San An.</p>
<p>We figured the airfare wouldn’t be this low again, so we might us well go clear across the country. Plus, we could hit more schools this way. My hope is at a minimum, son will learn if going to school across the country with the commute would be worthwhile.</p>
<p>We visited a couple with D but she is at a school that we didn’t visit until after we’d sent in our deposit. It offered the most money. We went to visit it on the visiting day for incoming juniors because that was the weekend that suited our schedule. An a capella group performed and that was what clinched it for her. She is now an officer of that group (she was planning a music minor anyway). Had she really hated the school, we would have seen if we could get our money back (it was only April) and gone elsewhere.</p>
<p>My incoming senior doesn’t have any interest. He wants me to pick out schools for him to look at… BUT he has no clue what he wants to study other than he likes history and thinks physics is cool, he might like economics (hasn’t taken it yet in HS) and he doesn’t want to do any writing that requires self-reflection or sharing of himself (college essays are going to be so much fun - not - with a child who over the years has deliberately failed papers rather than express his feelings about anything emotional or personal).</p>
<p>He might have to start out at CC despite 5s on his APs and an MN Commendation if he won’t write essays.</p>
<p>All I can tell you is that Duke, Georgetown, Stanford, Chicago and Harvard told us at a college night that they do not keep track of who visits because they think it would be unfair to those who cannot afford to make the trips.</p>
<p>I think you should be concerned because depending on the colleges your son really wants to go to, they might really want to see that he is interested enough to visit. The Ivy’s and MIT care less, that I know for sure. However, smaller schools care alot as do those schools that may receive alot of applications because they are free to apply, want to see that you would really consider matriculating not just racking up college acceptances.</p>
<p>“All I can tell you is that … Georgetown … told us at a college night that they do not keep track of who visits …”</p>
<p>Hmmm. Our experience was different. When we got home from DC there was a letter there from Georgetown, which was clearly a response to our visit. DD decided not to apply (based on her visit) so I don’t know whether visits (or lack thereof) come into consideration for admission.</p>
<p>I got very good advice from a friend who knows our kids and our financial situation. She had three kids go through the process and on to very selective schools. In her case money is not a problem. All three had the ‘college tours’ and for her third, two college tours. All of them wound up in schools they knew about and preferred before the tours. Two have already graduated and are in graduate schools. I had reason to believe she knew her stuff and it turned out to be sensible. This is why I’m passing it on.</p>
<p>What she told me, when I lamented at the cost, was that touring colleges in Junior year and the summer before senior year is NOT NECESSARY. Her suggestion was to learn as much as possible from others, from virtual tours and factual information etc. AFTER all acceptances come in (including financial aid packages) and the list is narrowed to the most desirable + do-able, if there is still more than one obvious choice, that is the time to do the physical touring. There is a week of Spring break after the results are in and before kids have to file SIR.</p>
<p>For most this means visiting no more than three schools. For us it meant two.</p>
<p>P.S.
Your choice to visit the Claremont Colleges is a very good one. These are among the schools that do care, very much, whether your student visited.</p>
<p>Most schools are alike. I visited two private, two state flagship and that is about it. I would cut down to one type each, and you will know all that is there to know about it.</p>
<p>I’d say schools are mostly indistinguishable from one another. Smith, Stanford, Southern Miss … same, same. Harvard, Hampshire, Hampton … how different can three private east coast places really be???</p>
<p>What I was trying to communicate (many posts ago) was that it doesn’t really matter HOW you determine a college or university is right, as long as you do that. Visiting helps many people decide, but it’s not necessary if an adequate assessment has been made using other means.</p>
<p>I have also visited many schools with all of my kids and I have a different opinion regarding the “sameness” of schools. We found that most schools had a personality unique to themselves. Harvard was very different than Cornell…MIT was very different than most any other…Cornell was different than Princeton…on and on. It is very important to visit schools IMO just to be sure it is worth applying to.</p>
<p>For very selective colleges, a college visit (or two!) prior to application is desirable. It’s not a matter of demonstrating interest, but rather in getting a better understanding of the college’s values and philosophy. Information sessions, tours, discussions with students, attending (if possible) classes, and an unsupervised walk through the college all help in understanding what the college values. When the time comes to write essays, or to interview, this first hand understanding of the college’s values can significantly improve acceptance chances.</p>
<p>This info about what each college values can be garnered from other sources at lower cost by studying the materials the U puts out thru various forms of media–their webpage, brochures, facebook and other sources. Personally, I think it’s best for families to save their money & perhaps go & see the schools the student has been admitted to & are most interested in attending prior to making final choice. For many families, multiple visits are NOT feasible.</p>
<p>The worm decided to apply to college in Dec.of junior year, so never did visiting until after accepted. Many good schools did not get on his list because of this. </p>
<p>However, he had spent 3 weeks each at colleges for summer programs. He had also had a teen tour thru CA and saw the campuses of Stanford and UCLA. (maybe others, but I don’t remember) On a trip to Boston, walked around MIT & Harvard (wish we had gone to Tufts). </p>
<p>If I had planned better, we could have gone by Emory and GaTech when visiting Atlanta. On other vacations, we could have done the same–not official tours, but walking around, having lunch at a college in the area.</p>
<p>Another way we could have had more exposure to colleges would have been to go to local info sessions. Fortunately, worm received a postcard from a CA school and we decided to go, as someone had mentioned this school and worm knew nothing about it. When he wrote essay “why this school”, he focused on this presentation and the alumni who spoke about their occupations.</p>
<p>I don’t think the worm was as sensitive to campus vibes as others on CC. By the time he applied to grad school, he was far more aware of neighborhoods and buildings, and the lab where he would be spending most of his time for the next 6 years. He looked at grad dorms and asked about apartments. He considered the depth of the department.</p>
<p>One of my old friends stopped by yesterday and reminded me that when her son was thinking about college, he had one choice and that was where he wanted to go. He did not want to even look at other schools. She insisted on visiting some other schools, but he resisted and had her pick the schools he would tour. The four-day adventure that followed has since been known as the Torture Tour.</p>
<p>Funny thing–he did not get accepted to first-choice school and ended up at one that his mom had selected. It all worked out. He has since graduated.</p>
<p>My first child visited only two colleges, applied only to one of them and was accepted early but did not attend. I sent my second child to stay with our relatives for one week college visit. But she did not visit any college, just went around town for fun then flew home.</p>
<p>Well, my sophomore son just got back from an unplanned visit that I wish had occured when he was a freshman: he had a swim meet at Princeton and time to kill, so he and his father wound up walking all around the campus texting me with numerous photos as they went. Apparently S now thinks it would be “really cool” to go there. This after having sunk to a new low with his first C in a h.s. class. I have explained to him that if he wants Princeton he will need nothing but A’s from now on, a 100 yard butterfly time of 48 s. or less, and a pact with Satan.</p>
<p>The one school we have officially toured so far is Shippensburg… I told the kids a lot of their friends would be using the PA state schools as safeties, and they needed to find out if they could live with going there because things might just work out that way. S thought the students looked happy but didn’t like the vibe that they would let anyone with a pulse attend (also, nothing to do off campus but cow tipping). So… I’m hoping the visits at least inspired him to at least rise to that happy medium between the two!</p>
<p>In an attempt to reiterate a point that has been made in various ways on this thread (although not the initial intent of the thread):</p>
<p>1) There are schools for which “demonstrated interest” is an admissions criteria. The common data set for the school will note if it’s a criteria or not.</p>
<p>2) “Demonstrated interest” does not need to be a campus visit…especially if you live more than a few hours drive away. Demonstrated interest can be contact with a professor, subscription to the campus news e-mail feed, contact with a coach or students in a club you’re interested in etc – as long as the admissions office knows you’ve made that contact.</p>
<p>When D was applying, we had limited resources available and were unable to visit most ahead of time. She had been waitlisted at one school and then offered a spot in June, with only a few days turn-around time to make a decision. She accepted the offer, and the first time she stepped on campus was on move-in day. </p>
<p>We just got back from a trip with S to see some schools. One was added as an after thought, since we would be in the area, and is now his top choice. But to be honest, he would be happy at any of them should he be admitted.</p>