Visiting The Opposite Coast: When To Go? (Summer, After Acceptances, Missing School?)

College Search & Selection
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<p>I have this conundrum that I think must be pretty common. I live in California, but the vast majority of my college list is on the East Coast [and some in the Mid West.] I really really want to visit campuses, but I'm not sure the best time to do so, and how I could make it work.</p>

<p>Basically, I've narrowed it down to three options:</p>

<p>OPTION 1: Many many students at my school literally take a week off in the fall and fly out to the East coast to visit the schools they plan to apply to. I like this option since it would allow me to see schools when they are in session, but the downside is missing school. I'm going to be taking five APs next year, and wouldn't want to risk falling behind. Also, I'm not sure if one of my parents could get a week off work to take me.</p>

<p>OPTION 2: I could visit over the summer. My mom is a teacher and therefore doesn't work in the summer, meaning it would be super easy for her to fly out with me and visit for a week. However, then you have the problem of classes not being in session! Summer seems to be a very attractive option, but I'm afraid I won't get as much out of it because there won't be any students around.</p>

<p>OPTION 3: The other possibility is waiting until my spring break senior year and then going out. Granted, this would be March, so around the time when acceptances are coming out. I wouldn't be able to show demonstrated interest by putting a visit to campus on my application, and it wouldn't help me narrow down my list at all. However, it would be majorly helpful in making my final decision.</p>

<p>One final thing is that I've heard that overnight visits are extremely helpful in getting a real sense of campus life. Assuming I was on a weeklong college trip, overnights wouldn't be possible. I'm a little sad by that fact. I could however do overnights AFTER I got admitted, but that would mean flying out AGAIN. It's just very expensive and time consuming.</p>

<p>I was hoping someone else has some insight on this problem. If you (or your D or S) applied to schools that were really far away, did you visit? If so, how did you make it work? Did you end up flying out multiple times? Visiting after acceptances? Never visiting at all? I would really appreciate any advice.</p>

<p>Sorry this post is so long...</p>

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<p>Spring break when you’re a junior is perfect! You may have as good an idea of your picks at that time as you would during the summer between junior & senior years.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, many students *do not *know their picks at that time. I would not take a week off from school senior year, especially with five AP courses.</p>

<p>Do you get any long weekends in the fall? You might be able to tack on one or two days (less stressful than taking five days off), and still get a great sense of your picks.</p>

<p>Another alternative might be the end of the summer. Most colleges start pretty early, especially with freshmen, athletes, work-studiers, and others. The gap between the start of the college calendar and the start of the high school calendar could be as much as two weeks.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice. I didn’t think of going at the end of summer, it’s a good idea. My school starts pretty late, so that might work.</p>

<p>I do have my list all figured out basically, and I’m a junior. I would go visiting this spring break but I can’t – I’m studying abroad in France. Obviously, that complicates the situation quite a bit. Lol.</p>

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<p>Bump. 10 char.</p>