Summer Visits to College Campuses: Worth the Gas?

<p>Question: I’ll be a high school senior in September, and my family is planning a college-visit trip for mid-August when my day camp counselor job ends. I have heard that it’s not a good idea to see colleges with no students on campus, but my father thinks that this is the only time we can [...]</p>

<p>View</a> the complete Q&A at CC's Ask The Dean...</p>

<p>It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. If it's all that your family's schedule allows, go for it.</p>

<p>Note that some colleges actually start their academic year in mid to late August. If you are visiting any of those, you might want to see them toward the end of your trip, when classes are in session.</p>

<p>Good point by Marian. Some terms do start in mid-August so the "real" students will be there then.</p>

<p>But, with that in mind, try to avoid campus visits at the very start of the semester ... i.e., those days when students are arriving and unpacking. The campus will be crowded with parents and miscellaneous guests, parking spaces non-existent, and admission officials may be tied up with "Welcome" events. </p>

<p>Have any CC members made summer visits to campus that they would recommend as being especially lively in the summer?</p>

<p>The only college I visited during the summer was Penn State (main campus)- they have summer sessions and a bunch of other things going on, so you could find students to talk to and all that good stuff. Maybe they'd let you sit in on one of the summer classes? Most large state schools are probably the same way.</p>

<p>I found REALLY cheap airfare for Florida so we're leaving in a little over 2 weeks and visiting 6 colleges there. Because of my youngest DD's involvement in Pop Warner and that school starts in September, it was a good time for us to do this.</p>

<p>Think about it this way: you're spending tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars on college. Want to spend it on the wrong one by not visiting?</p>

<p>I'd agree with Brillar that Penn State is relatively active in the summer. I remember going, with D1 a couple of years ago, to their "Spend a Summer Day at Penn State" program, for prospective students, and found it to be worth the trip.</p>

<p>Can you combine a summer college visit with a vacation trip? I suggest going in late August before high school starts and when you might see some of the new students on campus. My son went to tour USC last August. It turns out he came on a day when the university was welcoming new students. The tour plus seeing the welcome festivities looked so good that my son applied.</p>

<p>I think college visits are incredibly stupid if done before acceptance and financial aid. </p>

<p>You have a bit of interest in the school? Great. Then spend money on the application. You don't need to visit the school to decide if it is for you. Why would you spend hundreds of dollars visiting to see if you should spend $50 on an application?</p>

<p>During the college search, students don't know their aid packages, they don't know if they're going to get into the schools. What you should be doing is identifying schools that you think you would be a good fit at, apply there, get in, wait on financial matters, and THEN when you have a list of a few schools, take your visits.</p>

<p>I visited 2 schools in the summer. For one thing, i learned that a school that was my top choice (Georgetown) was NOT even worth applying to. Aside from that, my visits or lack thereof did not affect me. </p>

<p>My advice: if you have a top choice that you are considering applying early to, VISIT. </p>

<p>If it isnt your top choice, see if you get in. Then if you are considering, visit.</p>

<p>i agree with dande1114 and A2Wolves6. visit the ED dream school because ED is binding and you don't want to make the wrong choice.
don't visit any other school unless you live really really near one of them. </p>

<p>then just wait for those acceptance letters, narrow the colleges down, and VISIT.</p>

<p>Many public universities have summer sessions, so if any of those are under consideration, it might be worth the visit. D ended up going to a school visited during the summer when few students were around.</p>

<p>Definitely agree, if you are potentially considering the school as an ED - you need to visit. However, don't overlook the resources available online to you, there are many great one's out there (The U College Videos, Princeton Review student reviews, etc)</p>

<p>There are lots of reasons to go during the academic year. But there can be ways to make an out-of-season visit worthwhile. With homework and advanced planning you can make the experience great. I just completed one trip with S and we are taking another soon. We have found that the summer is casual and relaxed on campus and people seem to have more time to sit and talk. S arranged ahead of time to speak with professors and students who happen to still be on campus for the summer and found them very willing to take the time. S feels that he has been able to both gain and make a more meaningful impression than he would as one of the herd coming through during the fall.</p>

<p>One thing you can learn during the summer is what the surrounding area is like--if you drive the perimeter of the campus you can see if there are "college town" amenities such as interesting coffee houses & bookstores or is there not much of interest or even dangerous areas.</p>

<p>I didn't visit any of my "dream" schools, but it worked out because I got waitlisted/rejected from all of them haha. I only visited one school before applying (State U.), but ended up going to in-state LAC after they offered me scholarships. Only when I got that offer did I go visit.</p>

<p>For my kids, visiting was important to narrow down the list, as they had no clue what they wanted in a school. It is a luxury I did not have; I first saw my campus on move-in day, but with the type of money we are putting into college, I wanted them to have an idea of the different choices. With the first two, there was not much choice as they had to visit anyways once they applied, to get in. With the third one, it was a narrowing down process that was very useful. </p>

<p>You don't have to go on many road trips, however, if you choose college types near you. That's what we did. Son did not like Big U, City U with no campus, Out in the middle of nowhere college. Liked the mid/small catholic, Lac type schools. It was a start. </p>

<p>It is quite a luxury, I reiterate. Kids these days visit to decide where to apply, visit to let college know they are interested, visit when accepted to decide which one to pick, visit the chosen for orientation all before going to the school! Then there' Parent's day invites awaiting the folks when they get home from dropping off the kids, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner from that!</p>

<p>Summer visits can be a useful luxury for those who can afford them, but, when time and/or money are tight, sometimes "crunch-time" junkets are the best bet. Those are the post-acceptance campus trips that students take when they're in the throes of making a final choice. I've found that kids often approach these visits with a very different mindset than they bring to the reconnaissance trips that they take before applying. It's a more serious, "This is the real deal; I'm not window shopping anymore" attitude.</p>

<p>BUT ... there is an inevitable down side to the crunch-time trips, too, when a student sees the "dream school" for the first time and decides it's more of a nightmare. Options can narrow awfully fast if three or four colleges--previously unseen--get scratched off the list, and there's only one school left on the intinerary. Be sure to pray for sunny skies as you head that way. :)</p>

<p>I agree that visiting is good for narrowing the list. My D and I went on two trips in spring of her junior year where we visited multiple schools on each trip. She was able to decide on the size, location and majors she wanted. She has other schools on her list we probably will not visit but they fit the basic requirements. </p>

<p>We tried to make our trips as inexpensive as possible by flying mid-week or using frequent flyer awards, using public transportation and staying at cheaper hotels. But the trips still cost quite a bit. But I think it is a wise investment considering how much college costs. Plus we had fun and I got in a lot of "bonding" time with my D.</p>

<p>It doesn't always make sense to go in the summer, because you wont be seeing many students on campus. BUT, schools like Dartmouth College have students on campus year-round. The best way to see a school like this is to turn it into a vacation, with just one of the day's activities to see a college. For example: Rent a vermont or new hampshire house on a lake, and visit upstate New Hampshire, Vermont, Western Massachussetts, and Upstate New York Schoools. ~OR~ Rent a house on cape cod, and take 2 or 3 day trips to see Boston Schools. The real advantage of a summer visit, though, is to prevent students from falling behind in their course-work during the school year. Remember, should you choose to apply there, you still want to be able to get in!!!</p>