@albertsax which Ivy’s and other top 20 schools track interest? There are other ways to demonstrate interest than to visit, such as connecting with a recruiter. (edited to add: You can check the CDS to find how school view demonstrated interest)
IMO The value of visiting a school that has acceptance rates in the teens or single digits does not typically outweigh the risk of feeling not good enough when you don’t get in. I am a HUGE proponent of visiting schools to figure out fit if finances allow fit to be a factor. We learned so much through our visits and at this point between 2 children have vigorously visited 2 dozen schools (sat in on classes, honors colleges, etc…). We didn’t need to visit the thousands of safety schools that fit my children because we used information widely available to narrow down to schools that matched the size, location, program strength, soft factors (ECs, spirit, sports) that they were looking for in a school. Visit those safeties. Visit the matches. Cast a wide net.
The reaches are best to be left for the April of senior year to visit. There are no unhooked students getting into more than an handful of those top 20s as the very best scenario. The thought that spring semester is too busy to be touring all of your schools misses the point that 90-95% of unhooked applicants will not gain admittance so have no value in the visit. It is not just the waste of time/$ but also the lingering what ifs that remain and the shine that is removed from the excellent schools that do what your child and will give them everything they need and more. The thinking that one must tour to determine if Harvard is a better fit than Brown is driven by the thinking that my child is different and better so has a better odds that the other 43,000+ applicants to Harvard (41,000 of which were denied but were also “average excellent”). Websites are full of useful information about programs, culture, location, and virtual campus tours. The student who will thrive at Dartmouth is very different than the student who will thrive at Penn so no need to visit both. Recruited athletes, hooked applicants, children of celebs - they have the luxury of touring the dreams early. I would caution all parents heading into this to wait on the dream visits until acceptances are in hand. YMMV