Visiting Colleges before or after acceptance

My DS is a Junior, so next year he will be applying to several colleges fairly far away. Research has already been completed on the Computer Science programs each college offers (his intended major.) After he receives any acceptances, his decision will come down to cost (how much the final cost actually is, not just what the price net estimator is estimating) and from those schools, which one he “fits” the best. SO…are there any reasons to visit any of the far away schools before applying rather than waiting until after he is accepted so as to eliminate some of the visits?

It is fine to wait to visit schools that are far away (especially ones that involve a flight) until a student is admitted and the school is deemed affordable. If the college looks for demonstrated interest (you can check section c of the common data set for each school) there are other ways to do so such as (depending on what the school offers): going to a local presentation, asking for an interview locally, getting on the email list, stopping by the school booth in a local college fair, participating in online discussions etc.

Thank you! Great information to know. I never thought about the demonstrated interest.

Do as much as possible listed in post #1. It’s much harder to answer the “why us” essay if you haven’t been to campus. Also be prepared that you will possibly have a very busy April trying to get to get visits done.

My D only visited one of her colleges before applying, although she visited about 5 more that she didn’t apply to. Even visiting schools you aren’t applying to (like maybe if tours are just doable because they’re nearby) can help a student articulate what they like about another college.

D and I perused blogs, videos, cc, etc., anything to round out the picture. Especially watch for creative stuff students post. I helped keep a list for each college titled Why I Want to Go to X. It helped her during interviews and when writing essays. She went to college fairs and met with any college reps that came close. She did alumni interviews when available and even if optional. Most or all of her interviewers were recent grads so had pertinent up to date info about the colleges.

I’m sure what works best for a given student varies, but just as an example, Carleton stood out for my D when we learned about the Cookie House and found a crazy video of silent dance through the library before finals.

She ended up, happy, at a school she never visited before registrstion day.

I know you have researched the programs, but I do have one suggestion – you may want to try to visit some different types of schools that are within a reasonable drive to where you live. It could be useful for your S to look at a few schools of different sizes (ex. LAC, mid-sized, large) and in different locations (ex. urban, suburban, rural) even if they are not colleges he is specifically targeting. This could give him a better sense of what likes/doesn’t like in a college and may help you to narrow down or better target the list of schools he visits when accepted.

For example, after just a few visits my S decided he really liked mid-sized urban universities and my D decided to focus her search on LACs. While not every single college they applied to fit their “ideal”, that information certainly helped us to better target their searches.