<p>During our family summer vacation we plan to check out some colleges in the area. Since my D is only going into soph. year should we just walk around the schools or sign up for the tour. The visit(s) are just to identify school types- size etc. I should mention that as a family we move fairly slow and may not be able to start and finish visits if we began the process spring of jr year.</p>
<p>We have not planned the vacation yet but it will be within 4-5 hrs of central NJ. Places like DC or Boston or the Finger Lakes.</p>
<p>Take the tours. They're fun and very informative. The Admissions Office Information Sessions become redundant, however. Our Finger Lakes tour consisted of Cornell, Hamilton, and Colgate, and was an enjoyable vacation, to boot. Obviously Ithaca College is right there as well. I'll never forget our hike around Buttermilk Falls. Boston? Well, you've got to narrow your choices down a little because there's so much to choose from.</p>
<p>First of all, I think this kind of preliminary visit to gauge what type of school is a good fit for your daughter is a wonderful idea. I'd visit one or two large universities, one or two mid- size schools, and a few LAC's, including a women's school if you can (warning with LAC's: I've found that each has its own distinctive personality, so remind your D to reflect solely on how it felt to be at a smaller, more intimate school instead of on that particular school's atmosphere). In Boston... I'd see BU or Harvard for a taste of a large urban school, BC for a mid- size school, and Wellesley for an LAC (if you're going further into Mass, check out Amherst or Smith for an LAC also). Good luck!</p>
<p>Without knowing the talents and personality of your student it is hard to give any substantive advice. However, because she is only a sophmore it might be best to expose her to a wide range of colleges like small off beat LACs(Bard, Bennington), traditional LACs(Hamilton, Union, Middlebury), small research universities(Rochester, Brandeis), specialty schools in an area of interest(Eastman, Berklee-music, RPI, WPI-engineering), larger universities(Cornell, Boston U, UMass, UConn), and perhaps a woman'c college(Mt Holeyoke, Smith).</p>
<p>If she is extremely talented both academically and athletically, artistically, etc don't hesitate to visit the biggies-Amherst, Williams. Harvard, Brown etc.</p>
<p>I hate to sound negative, but I think visiting schools at this stage could be somewhat of a waste of time. The inclinations of a youngster just having finished freshman year could be diametrically opposed to that of a junior. In fact, its not uncommon for students to change their minds about what appeals to them between junior and senior year (see many other threads). Even preferences regarding such broad issues as size, distance from home, and certainly areas of academic interest can change dramatically with maturity.</p>
<p>tom,
if you D thinks it sounds like fun, it will be fun. I like the finger lakes tour for early visits as it is likely to be less intense than the Boston tour. We started our tours spring of junior year, and it was tough getting them all done. </p>
<p>If your D starts a journal, and records her thoughts each evening, she will still have a flavor of the schools in a couple of years. Again, it should all be fun at this point.</p>
<p>Donemom, your point is well taken, but I think a lot can be learned by taking a sophomore (or even younger) to colleges while on a trip in the area. They'll get a physical sense of the place that will add an entire dimension to the view books and college guides a little later. This doesn't have to be "the" college visit, but it could well help them weed out (or fondly remember) a school when the process is in full gear. It's very time consuming to visit schools--potentially expensive as well--so I would advise using every opportunity from here on out. The application deadline arrives very quickly!</p>
<p>I agree with driver. We started looking in the summer after daughter's freshman year of high school. We were not real serious, nor were we trying to make up any lists or get specific questions answered at that point. We just wanted to let her experience various types of colleges. </p>
<p>She loved the first place she looked at but couldn't stand it two years later. That is to be expected and I think it helped her understand what she was looking for over the long haul. At about the same time, she visited another school that did not elicit much comment, but later became her top choice.</p>
<p>I, too, agree with Driver. D visited Northwestern on Spring Break as a hs freshman. It helped give her a baseline of something to compare to and react against. On a higher level, it got her engaged in the overall process for the first time, on the road to making college "real." Since it was piggybacked as part of a family vacation, there was no added stress or financial cost.</p>
<p>We took my son on a tour of 3 colleges during the summer betweeen sophomore-junior years. One of the 3 has since disappeared from the list. Our then 9 year old daughter sat in on two of the presentations and even asked questions! :)</p>
<p>We are visiting several more this summer. </p>
<p>I thought we were way early in our college preparation, now I am finding out we are late on some things. </p>
<p>If your child is going to apply to highly competitive colleges, he/she may be taking summer classes the following summer, which may complicate your college touring plans.</p>
<p>If it is easy for you to go take the tours, take them. At least it will get the child thinking about kind of college experience they might want.</p>
<p>Take a few tours --- but, beware that your daughter may feel a bit uncomfortable at times being surrounded by "older" high school juniors/seniors. My daughter did when we took her for some tours going into her junior year. However, the tours were great because they allowed us access to dorm rooms and other facilities that we wouldn't have seen on our own during a summer tour. Have fun!</p>
<p>My son took a couple of tours as a rising junior and felt very uncomfortable bcs tour guides asked if everyone was a senior and made comments at both places such as "Oh, your starting early." I don't feel it was wasted time.</p>
<p>I think the OP's child is a rising sophomore! That being the case, I would be more low keyed...view these visits as getting ideas of the kinds of schools, towns and campuses are appealing. We did take DS on college tours during spring break of his sophomore year, and he actually applied to a couple of the schools we saw. BUT he knew what he was looking for and also his intended major. Most kids are not that certain as rising sophomores. The reality is that if you are on a family vacation and there is a college that the kid REALLY REALLY likes and wants to take a formal tour...you should be able to sign on for one. We drove around and walked around a LOT of college campuses before we ever took a formal tour anywhere. Most campuses will give you a map and have "walking tour" directions for self guided tours. Check in the visitor's center.</p>
<p>Thanks for the posts. Some family health issues make starting early a must for us. What some can do in a day or two takes us significantly longer. I hope to do some visits this summer- 1 or 2 and take advantage of every school break if possible. Other family did between 10 and 12 visits late jr early sr years that is something we could never do.</p>
<p>Tom1944: depending on the nature of those issues, a quicker option might be doing weekend visits throughout junior year with just you or mom1944. I have two much younger siblings, and we couldn't have done visits in the time we did with the whole family in tow.</p>
<p>Sorry to thow a blanket on this for you but, I understand your desire to start early because of health issues..... enjoy your family time, you will never get it back when your D is off to that chosen school.
Agree with Thumper1-if you are in the area, and in the mood, then check out a few schools.</p>
<p>For a rising Soph or Junior, does one hold off on interviews while touring until the student has short-listed? Also, does one come armed to tour/interview with personal stats, e.g., grade point, etc.?</p>
<p>I would hold off on the interviews unless you have a rising Junior looking to start college a year early. Your child will not need to be armed with personal stats for a simple tour. I rather doubt that they would be requested at an interview, but it doesn't hurt to have that info handy just in case.</p>
<p>My gut says that there's little point in interviewing until at least Spring/Junior and then only if you happen to be in the college's area and know that it's unlikely that you'll return before all the apps are due. I think some colleges limit interviews to seniors but I've still got "waking-up memory" and don't remember for sure.</p>
<p>Pardon the redundancy, but I mostly concur with driver. Might I suggest you take the tours and skip the info sessions - with the possible exception of the ivies they all tend to be bland and repetitive. All of the info they convey is readily available and if you have individual questions you can always contact admissions afterward. We used tours to narrow the selection process and though we did sit through many of those sessions if I had to do it over I would skip most of them. Interviews - don't bother - way too soon for that. One last thing - we found that 2 a day was the max we could handle - between tour schedules and travel time. Even in Boston where many schools are close together, more than 2 will not be in anyone's best interest.</p>