<p>Leading tours is a work-study job at my D’s school. So it takes time from school work, but no more than any job would do, less than many. </p>
<p>I think being a tour guide is also a work-study job at NU, and I’m betting most of them are terrific. In fact even the one I found a bit annoying was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, she just didn’t “click” with me in the way that most NU students I’ve met since then have. It didn’t deter our D from making the school her top choice, but looking back on it is a reminder than a few encounters during tours aren’t always representative of the school as a whole.</p>
<p>I do think it makes sense to wait until all offers are in before traveling. Last year my son was applying to small liberal arts colleges (many) and also preparing to leave for his gap year travels in South America. We booked expensive midwest flights for him to see schools where he was already accepted with good aid, and while he was there he received his acceptance (with great merit aid) from his top school. We spent about $800 on the midwest trips that we could have saved if we’d waited for all answers to be in.</p>
<p>Depending on how this weekend goes, we will also be planning a last-minute trip from the west coast for my D.</p>
<p>Regarding CMU: does anyone know if they will allow accepted students to visit theater classes? I know everyone says it’s an amazing program, and I understand my D would be very lucky to be admitted, but it is strange to have the least exposure/info on the “best” school. Rutgers gave three days of intensive exposure to their program, including the observation of classes. I’m wondering if we are in a position to evaluate, what sort of visit we can plan to CMU? Perhaps meeting other students and getting a sense of the “cultural fit” is enough, but it would be nice to have a more in-depth experience than just a campus visit.</p>
<p>That would be a great question to ask during “the call.” </p>
<p>my D could not have asked for a better visiting scenario when she was at CCM last week – she sat in several different kinds of classes, attended a 3hr evening rehearsal, saw the senior showcase (even helped the seniors put their packages together), attended the end of year award ceremony, saw the housing where kids live after they move off campus, and spent a lot of time with kids from all years. she got every one of her questions answered – mainly through talking with the kids. at no time did she feel they were ‘pushing’ their program, they were simply going about their day only with her along. She came away feeling like it was a ‘family’ she’d like to be a part of. </p>
<p>< I was talking to your D about it the other night. It sounded like she had an incredible time. I’m visiting the first week of April. I am super pumped!</p>
<p>glad you’re both in touch. she stayed at the Parker House - the B&B, walking distance. </p>
<p>Most programs are pretty accommodating to accepted students. If your daughter is fortunate enough to be one of the tiny number accepted to CMU, sparkleshirley, just ask them…right away. When my son was accepted at BU, which he had never visited, they very willingly let us visit on the day of our choice and assigned my son a freshman to shadow in classes for the day.</p>
<p>We knew we would have some visiting to do if my son was admitted to more than one of his top choice schools. However, we really didn’t spend a moment thinking about visits until the acceptances were actually in hand. :)</p>
<p>We didn’t make any visits, partly because son didn’t decide to major in MT/Acting until a year ago. Another reason was he was at CMU for six weeks last summer, so there was little time left to visit. The final reason was expense. And to add one more reason, my son didn’t want to visit a school and become attached to the idea of attending, only to not be accepted. If I told him today that his first visit to his chosen school would happen when he moved in, he would probably be OK with the idea, but I wouldn’t. I grew up in the Mid-west, and have lived in Northern New England for the past 25+ years, and I know that son will experience some culture shock whether he chooses the school 900 miles south, or the school 800 miles west. If my son had been more interested in making visits we may have made more of an effort. </p>
<p>One day I’m going to write a book about the impact of the college tour guide and their role in shaping the lives of future leaders. Seriously… I think they hold all the power.</p>
<p>@Octaviar, we are in the same boat as you when it comes to waiting and trying to figure out when to pull the trigger on buying plane tickets. Not PDX but the other large airport to the north of you. </p>
<p>I’ve surrendered on the fact that we will just have to pay a few hundred dollars more rather than fret about knowing what is currently unknowable. We know we are headed to BOS over spring break, but for 2 schools or 3? Don’t know. We know we have one in DC but is it 1, 2 or 3 and if it is just the 1… is he into the program he wants or not because if it isn’t and the others are a no, we won’t go. Then there is this outlier school in the middle of the country in a location that has become an expensive place to fly in and out of from our area. Aside from that are the So Cal schools. I look at those as “in the hood” because at least they are in the same time zone and in a busy flight corridor so there are competitive flight options. Where we live the states are large and we have fewer schools per square mile. Visiting is harder for us. Funny to think what starts to feel local.</p>
<p>Pick sight unseen? Sure, there are people that do that. We are not wired that way. I can also say that so many schools are regionally familiar but nationally just not. I’m originally from the Northeast. I probably know the names of most schools from Maine to Virginia. I had never heard of all but the largest schools on the West Coast until we moved here. I had never heard of many of the Theatre schools discussed here until reading this forum and having a kid that pursued that field. And as much as I do value opinion, nobody here comes to the table with the exact same baggage that we do. We need to look for ourselves.</p>
<p>In the greater scheme of things, a few hundred dollars more for plane tickets because you wait to see your options will feel like a drop in the bucket. This from a long suffering parent that is about to go from paying one college tuition, to two. </p>
<p>@Bisouu, I want to go to THAT school too! 
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<p>When my D was accepted to CMU in 2009, we did go back for a campus visit in April and she was able to attend some freshman classes. So, unless they have changed their policy you should be able to visit classes.</p>