<p>DD and I plan a visit in May to Macalester, St. Olaf, probably Carleton since we'll be in the neighborhood, Lawrence and Beloit (yes, a range of selectivity). Any suggestions on other similar schools to visit while we're there, or how to best visit these schools (by appointment, wait for a general visit day, etc.). We're on the west coast and will either fly into and out of Minneapolis and make the trip to WI by rental car (about 5 hours so says mapquest), or fly into MN and out of WI, though I think its quite a bit more pricey that way. </p>
<p>Grinnell's in Iowa, Kenyon's in Ohio. Both a bit out of the way, although Grinnell might be doable depending on time.</p>
<p>Definitely make appointments. My daughter visited Macalester and Carleton around Memorial Day last year. Macalester was not in session, but Carleton was still having classes that she could sit in on. St. Olaf was in the middle of graduation ceremonies. Check the academic and admission calendars on their websites.</p>
<p>My S and I visited Grinnell, Macalester, Carleton, Beloit & Kenyon (and a few others) last March. We flew into Cleveland and out of Minneapolis. S applied to Beloit, Macalester & Kenyon and was admitted EA to Beloit. </p>
<p>It took some getting used to driving from place to place. While you can visit St. Olaf's and Carleton on the same day do not try to double up any of the others, We're from Boston where a six hour drive gets you through 5 states, almost to Philadelphia. Visiting here in the east took a lot less time.Those midwestern states are a lot bigger but the road systems are great. </p>
<p>I agree that making appointments in advance is important. We visited Grinnell when the campus was truly deserted and that deserted campus in the middle of nowhere just turned my son off and he never mentioned Grinnell again...and it is a great school! Good luck.</p>