My D is a hs senior and is “hoping” to make some college visits. As we all know…this is challenging with this being their last hs semester and not wanting to miss classes and some univsities not being open to visitors due to COVID. I am trying to decide if it is worth going to colleges that are 7 and 8 hours away to visit…“on the weekend?!” Any thoughts? Will weekend visits tell us anything?
We would be going to U of Tennessee (4 hours away), Clemson (7 hours away), U of South Carolina (8 hours). We will most likely fly to TCU. Also, any thoughts/experience with these colleges? She is also looking at Uof Dayton (30 min away…yay!)
IMO, no, it is not worth driving 7 and 8 hours to visit a campus right now, especially on a weekend when kids sleep in or are generally not so visible on campus.
I also feel that trying to visit four campuses isn’t realistic in these times. Visit as late in spring as you can, and try to be on campus on a weekday if at all possible. He will see more students out and about.
Visiting a college when you can’t see many students around is really not a great way to judge a school. If a weekday visit is impossible, I suggest he spend a fair bit of time looking at a college’s social media pages, which should give insight into the kinds of students there and the feeling of the school.
The schools can be locked down later, even if they are open for in-person classes now.
How important it is for you and your D to see the area surrounding the school, get the general “feel”? If it is, that’s the additional factor in favor of the drive.
Our D tells us that she learned 10 times more from social media than from the visits, and she fell in love with her final choice based on her Instagram interactions more than anything.
We visited several completely or almost completely deserted campuses in the fall but we got a pretty good idea about their vicinity in places as varied as Middlebury, VT, Boston, and Claremont, CA. But we combined the visit with mountain hiking trips, really gorgeous, and we wouldn’t do it just to see the campus itself.
Weekend visits will definitely give you a sense fo the atmosphere, but with COVID, not much sense of the student body. It’s tricky to find out what everyone is actually like, and what normal, daily life would be at a time like this. That said, I’d suggest looking back at old threads about life at those schools, preferably from the mouths of students themselves. If you want more current info, or to actually speak with a student at one of the colleges, you can check if collegeuncovered .com and see if they are holding an event you’re interested in.
Too funny! My son has also looked at UT, Clemson, UofSC and Dayton - we are in the Cincinnati area. I feel it is incredibly important to actually step foot on campus before making such a huge decision. We are super done with virtual visits and I believe all of those campuses are doing at least small in person tours. We took three days and headed down to UT first walked campus and explored a bit then headed on to Clemson spending the night in a super cute little down just outside of Clemson, Greenville. Walked campus a bit and then headed on to Columbia and spent two nights there visiting South Carolina. Yes, it was a lot of driving, but we have looked forward to doing these kind of visits for all of his high school career. Really feel like both we and our kids are being cheated out of this kind of experience. Anyhow, I say go! Make the most of it and see how each campus feels. Oh! And we did love Dayton too although it feels (and is) significantly smaller than the others you mentioned. GOOD LUCK!
I took my S21 and S23 on a road trip this summer to visit several campuses, most of which were closed. We did find it valuable to walk campuses and spend some time in the towns. It gave us a sense for the vibe and we enjoyed our self-guided tours. I do think it can be a meaningful supplement to the online options. Given the year we are in, we just have to do the best we can.
We did a quick visit to see TCU and SMU a few days ago. My daughter is serious about them and was accepted. It was the only time we all could go, so we made it work and I felt the schools did a great job with social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer, and tours. I agree that if your child is serious about a school, you must set foot on campus, but it wasn’t a perfect visit due to the fact it is so hard to gauge the true atmosphere without many students. Also, the tour leader was so much better at one school than the other, so it did lead to her favoring that particular school. It’s funny how much that can matter; I saw the same thing with my older children when they went to college.
Oh, gosimoes, what did your daughter think about TCU? We are planning a trip but she waivers on whether or not she really wants to go there?! It is between the convenience of one vs the newness and excitement (and challenge…out of the comfort zone) of another! I feel I should “highly encourage” her to visit! Has your d made a final decision yet? Will she be going to TCU? Did anything stand out in your visit? Did she “love it?”
Good luck to your son!! Has he made any progress in his decision? We did as you did…but we headed to UT then said lets just keep going to Clemson…why not? She loved Clemson but waiting to hear about a final scholarship amount, etc…
My daughter loves TCU, it is her #1 choice right now and I really believe she’s going there. She liked the vibe in general, she liked the way the campus was set up, it didn’t seem too large or too small. She felt comfortable. She’s excited to attend football games, maybe rush a sorority. We are still waiting for a couple Ca schools but I don’t think they will matter in the end. She seems set on TCU.
My son is looking at colleges all over the country. We visited Chicago and several schools in CA before the pandemic hit(we’re in NY). All our New England visits last spring were canceled.
Thankfully we were able to visit many of the schools he was interested in over the summer. We drove around the areas and walked the campuses. It is SO valuable to actually do so. Such a different perspective than the virtual tours. A few schools did have students on campus at the time but of course a very different feel than if things were in full swing and we talked about that. But honestly even in CA we noticed the same differences…a college campus on a Friday or holiday morning looks and sounds very different from a Wednesday afternoon. Weather plays a role also- kids won’t be hanging out or playing frisbee on lawns in the rain, but it doesn’t mean that isn’t the vibe on a sunny day.
There were some schools we didn’t get to but at this point we are waiting to see where he gets in. I don’t want to fly until we’re all vaccinated, so we may be doing a few LONG drives in April. But I feel like it’s worth it. With admissions so tough this year, we are waiting on acceptances though.
Thank you so much rmulvane for your reply!! I have been vaccinated so I believe we will schedule a flight and head to Texas! It would be hard to feel the “vibe” without being there. We did a drive as well and it was helpful! Best of luck to your son! Do you, he (and your family) have any thoughts on him going away?..I suppose the best answer I hear is “it’s a personal decision!” Thank you again!
If you can do it you definitely should! I feel so fortunate that we were able to.
I have to believe that by the fall semester things will be closer to normal. I’ve been home for a year and can’t deal with things like this much longer!!