<p>My D. is a senior and we haven't visited any colleges yet. This fall has been crazy for her: two minor surgeries, demanding classes, teachers who don't make allowances for college visits, and major confusion about where to apply. Now it's mid- to late November and we still haven't gone. Some of the schools on her list have a February deadline, so we can see those in January if we need to. Most have a January 1st deadline. </p>
<p>Bottom-line: Is it too late to go?</p>
<p>Also:</p>
<p>Do some people visit only AFTER acceptance?</p>
<p>Are college decisions effected in any way by whether or not the student visited?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any advice.</p>
<p>BTW, if you are a junior or a parent of a junior, GO THIS YEAR! I wish someone had told us that.</p>
<p>Has your D finalized her list? Some schools put a lot of weight on demonstrated interest including visits, others less so. If you post her working list, you may get more specific advice from the folks here. In any case, demonstrated interest can take many forms besides visits. Many people will visit after acceptance, often because of time or budget constraints. </p>
<p>In my D's case, she has visited 5 of the 6 schools on her list (visited lots more than didn't make the final cut). The 6th school is a "lottery ticket", and does not track demonstrated interest, so she's not going to worry about visiting until/unless she gets accepted.</p>
<p>1) No, it's not too late to visit.
2) Even schools that track "interest" don't require visiting. Seeing a regional rep when he/she visits your high school, going to a college fair, requesting an alumni interview all show interest.
3) My d visited 5 out of the 8 schools she applied to. She's now attending one that she didn't visit until she was accepted. And she couldn't be happier.</p>
<p>I would try to visit if you can. I think it makes the whole application process a little easier if you have more of a feel for the schools. Also, by visiting she may cut some of them off of her list, thus not wasting time applying to a school she really will not have any interest in. I visited some of those schools and the visits really changed my mind about applying. I thought I was going to love Vassar, and I did, it is beautiful, but it turned out not to be my first choice. I liked Bard more than I thought I would and I did not like Conn College at all. I ended up loving Bennington, which had really been one of my safeties, and applying there early decision. I only say all this to show that a visit can really help you to clarify what is important to you, and where you think you might want to live for four years. </p>
<p>Having said that, if it is really too hard to visit, I do know people who applied to a whole lot of schools and then visited only those they were accepted to. The advantage of that is that you don't fall in love with some school and then have to stress about getting in. Once you are visiting you are in, and you really get to do the picking. That in many ways sounds great, it gives the student all of the power!</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever you do. Those are all good schools and I am sure that wherever your daughter ends up will be a good place.</p>
<p>If it's of any help to you, it's been pretty common for the older students I've seen graduate to opt out of visiting a school until acceptance, especially if said school is far away.</p>
<p>Visiting is one more piece of data to fit into the decision formula. I highly recommend visitng if you can. Doesnt have to happen before applications are complete, but it is a good idea to visit if you can.. whenever that may be. Good luck
PS agreed-- Vassar is BEAUTIFUL</p>
<p>It's going to be tough, but leaving all the visits for April will become a major source of stress for the whole family. The schools on your list are not that far apart geographically. Try to squeeze in visits to schools that are "maybes" between now and December 15, when most colleges go on break. </p>
<p>Winter break is a dead time to visit, and your child will have to focus on getting out those applications. </p>
<p>After break, use whatever holiday weekends you have (MLK day, Presidents Day, Easter week since it is early this year) to visit a few other schools where she is most likely to be accepted. The reachiest schools can be saved for an April visit, after acceptances are known.</p>
<p>Very helpful. Thank you. I'm thinking we will try to get to three schools in the first week of December. There are a few that wouldn't be too hard to do in a circuit. The farther ones, I might see if we can set up alumni interviews closer to home. </p>
<p>It's been really interesting to hear from those of you whose choices flip-flopped after visiting. I guess there's nothing like that elusive "feel," which you can only get from being there.</p>
<p>heron, It depends on what you're worried about being too late for. </p>
<p>To show demonstrated interest? Acceptance decisions are finalized sometime in March, so she still has several months to fit in a visit. She just has to make sure that the schools are made aware if she visits after submitting her application. [I agree, Yale and Brown could care less.]</p>
<p>To make personal contacts? For my son this was a big plus in visiting. He was interested in 4 of the 8 on your daughter's list and at just about every one he met someone -- an admissions committee member, a student, a faculty member -- with whom he communicated over the rest of the application process. He also interviewed on campus which to him was a positive as in most cases the interviewer was a student or a recent alum.</p>
<p>To verify her list? I.e., the Flip-flop factor. :)
My son (also an artist) had a completely different list before and after visiting. Seeing the art facilities and current student work, plus visiting the campus museums, added a great deal to his perception of the college.</p>
<p>His pre-visit #1 school for various reasons greatly disappointed. At the last minute he added a nearby college, visited, fell in love and the rest was history. From the guidebooks and "other people's opinions" he never would have even considered this school, but in fact it turned out to be a perfect fit.</p>
<p>To bolster a safety? To me this is the most important reason to visit. Everyone loves reaches, but safeties are a little harder to develop affection for from afar. A visit often makes them very appealing once you see the campus and meet the kids, faculty and administration. Of course the opposite can happen too -- a safety that sounded passable could be, in real life, dismal. So if time and money are limited I'd recommend giving priority to visiting safeties. Sometimes it's a process of elimination and you need to see more safeties than reaches or matches before settling on the right one.</p>