^ Right. Some schools interview only seniors; some interview second-semester juniors and seniors; some interview all comers. It should be on the website.
Seems like a good time to pass along the very valuable advice we’ve often heard (and heeded with all three DCs): Encourage your kid to schedule their first interview at a school they’re not in love with.
Oh thanks, good idea about interviewing and a Plan B school
HI
I have a question about the visits. I’ve signed up with the schools, and at two of the schools we’re also going to the business school presentation. Is there anyone else we should be contacting? Our local rep or anything like that? We’re travelling pretty far so I want to make sure I don’t miss something I’m supposed to do! Thanks
@NYC2018nyc What is your goal in making other contacts? If it’s expression of interest, just make sure your kid signs in at both info sessions/presentations. There’s plenty of time to be in touch with your admissions rep during application season next fall. But if you feel like you need more information about the school while you’re there, your kid could contact faculty or program directors for specific programs, or coaches (if relevant) to arrange meetings. Depending on the school, there may also be housing tours, FA presentations, etc. Throughout the process, make sure all contact comes from the kid, not from you.
Does anyone have any hotel recommendations? We’ll be spending the night by Notre Dame, Wisconsin (Madison), Ann Arbor and Ohio State.
Thanks!
Madison: Union South has hotel rooms which are really quite nice; Lowell Center is also a university run facility, a little more modest but if you pay a little extra, you can confirm a Lake view – when my kid woke up and looked out over Lake Mendota, it was the beginning of a great day! FLuno Center is right on State St and also a UW facility. All are centrally located and you can pay for on site parking. I think there are discounts if you identify you are there in connection with student activity, such as college visit. The “Graduate Hotel” is private, just off State St, a little pricier usually but very convenient. Edgewater Hotel is much pricier, very fancy, a longer walk down Langdon to get to State St and campus, but gorgeous hotel and location.
Notre Dame: Morris Inn is the university run hotel on campus and steps from the “Main Circle” and the Golden Dome. Fairfield Inn and Embassy Suites are across the street from campus, in the Eddy St retail/shopping complex. In downtown South Bend about 3 miles from campus is the new Aloft hotel which is quite comfortable and hip, by South Bend standards. Otherwise, various chain hotels are on 933, also called Dixie Highway, in South Bend, including a Comfort Suites just off the Toll Road, and a quick drive to campus. Another area with a lot of hotels is around Grape Rd/Main St in Mishawaka – Mishawaka and South Bend are seamlessly connected geographically, so those hotels are just about 15 minutes from campus.
Thanks @Midwestmomofboys Very helpful!
Lots of hotels in downtown Columbus, Grove city, and “university area” are available. OSU is a huge campus so there are lots of options “nearby”. I prefer the Hyatt or Hampton Inn at the convention center downtown. Lots of good restaurants in the arena district which is walkable from the convention center.
D20 & I stayed @ Graduate Madison last summer and loved it. @NYC2018nyc @Midwestmomofboys
@NYC2018nyc We have a daughter at ND and we always use an AirBnB. I’d do that, if I were you, unless there’s an opening and you have the budget for the on-campus hotel.
We just returned last night from a long weekend trip to Chicago (official Northwestern tour, unofficial drive-around University of Chicago) and Ann Arbor. @NYC2018nyc We stayed at the Bell Tower Hotel in Ann Arbor, and it was lovely and right smack in the middle of town. Caught the tail end of polar vortex and then 60 degrees yesterday, wow!
@JCAmine what did you think of Northwestern and U Chicago? We’re going to visit them both in April. (hopefully weather will be reasonable then!)
U Chicago campus is beautiful. It was never really on DD’s list (she wants big school, sports, school spirit), but a local friend offered to drive us around to see it. Northwestern is probably also a beautiful campus, but the lake was frozen and snowed over so I’m sure we didn’t get the full effect. Evanston ended up being more suburban than DD would like. But she loved U Michigan.
Notre Dame, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster and Case. ND to see if she likes something bigger, but right now she has her heart set on a small LAC
Hi all, My daughter is in 10th grade. Is this a good time to start college visits or wait till junior year is complete?
@VRN2021
I think it would be good to visit some schools local to you and/or schools that are convenient while you are on vacation. It is good to have some content/exposure but a little early to spend money on specific trips. We made two large trips and my daughter did not apply to any of the schools visited (both trips early JR year). It takes a lot of time, thought and research to come up with a good list.
@VRN2021 I think it’s a good time to start looking at different types of schools. I agree about not spending $ on trips at this point. I would start looking at in-state options, and also start exploring different types of schools (that are convenient to travel to) to start determining preferences such as urban, suburban, or rural; big, medium, or small.
Before visiting any colleges, I was upfront with my child about finances too so that he knew clearly what would constitute a yes, no, or depends on final offer. I’m very glad I did that.
We did a trip to look at 4 the summer before junior year and thought it was perfect. She’ll be too busy summer before senior year
Yes, if your kid is busy and/or you live far away from the schools you want to see, then you squeeze visits in when it works. If you have lots of colleges nearby, you can afford to wait a while. My kid’s schedule is packed so we started working college visits into our vacations before she even started high school.
@JBSeattle Thanks a lot. I will first start preparing the list and plan for nearby schools in spring break/summer.