What grade to start looking at colleges

<p>What grade do kids typically begin going to visit colleges? Middle of Junior Year?</p>

<p>Junior year, summer after junior year. IMO it’s better to visit after you get your SAT or ACT scores so you know what sort of schools you should be looking at.</p>

<p>There are obviously a lot a variation, and of course no correct right or wrong answer. </p>

<p>My 2 oldest kids visited first schools in the summer between Jr & Sr years, but my youngest picked out his school in Jr. High. We tried to work the Fun Family Vacation around college visits, so went to LA for USC, and Missouri for Mizzou and Wash U. </p>

<p>We drove by Harvard and MIT, the last time on the East Coast, but my oldest didn’t have the grades, and youngest turned up his nose at Harvard - no engineering - and MIT wanted SAT IIs. </p>

<p>Also, keep in mind that some schools allow Srs to take some days during the school year to visit. Although personally, I think that’s too late for a first visit, my oldest did that, and it worked out great for him.</p>

<p>Have fun and good luck</p>

<p>We started looking at schools in November of junior year. We had gpa and soph year PSAT results to guide us for our 2 children. I can tell you though that your child may only be half interested until the summer between junior and senior year but you should really persuade them to look before then or you run out of time. Visits in the summer are really not the same as while school is in session and that is at larger university. The smaller schools are terrible to visit in the summer. SO is you wait until the fall of senior year you will really feel the crunch</p>