<p>General or specific advice about visiting schools, particularly while trying to decide which schools to apply to.</p>
<p>You can do an informal visit, possibly with a formal tour, before you're ready to interview. Last spring we happened to be coming East and wanted to visit some schools (my D was then a 7th grader considering BS). It turned out to be revisit week so 3 out of the 4 schools said they couldn't meet with us or give us formal tours but we were welcome to stop at the admissions office for a map and walk around campus, the dorms being locked and off-limits. </p>
<p>At one school out of the 4 we got the standard student-led tour including dorms. We were invited to eat in the dining hall at 2 of the schools (who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?). At the third school we knew someone who works there so we got an unofficial tour including dorms and another free lunch. At the fourth school a very friendly and encouraging admissions officer came out and chatted with us for 5 or 10 minutes before we walked around campus. At all of the schools we were warmly welcomed.</p>
<p>If it hadn't been revisit week (generally the first week of April) I'm pretty sure we could have had a formal tour at any of these schools even thought D was then a 7th grader. I found out later she could even have interviewed at at least one of the schools, but really she wasn't ready for that, still feeling out the whole idea of boarding school and which ones to choose.</p>
<p>Most or maybe all schools let you visit in the summer. Of course it's not the same but you get some idea of the place. Usually the school's personality doesn't change abruptly.</p>
<p>I think eating on campus gave us a really good snapshot of student life. At one school we attended assembly. Anything like that that you can arrange, is very valuable. Sometimes teachers that weren't in class initiated conversations with us as we poked our heads into seemingly empty classrooms.</p>
<p>Especially for a student or parents who are uncertain about BS or trying to figure out which ones to apply to, early informal visits are very helpful even if the timing is less than ideal.</p>