<p>OP, for my oldest two this was a two part question.</p>
<p>We live in Boston and as the kids were growing up we ended up on various campuses around town for lots of reasons … summer camps, athletic or cultural events, visit friends, etc … so they had some exposure to types of schools since they were pretty small.</p>
<p>With my oldest we went on 7 day - 20 school thing over spring break her junior year … and she fell in love with the school to which she was accepted ED … so the whole visit process took one week.</p>
<p>With my second it was very different. He played sports in high school so visits were tough to schedule between the high school and club teams (which ran through the summer). We looked at some schools during winter break of his junior year (we were in Maine so went to see the Maine LACs) … then the summer after his junior year we took 3-4 weekend trips to visit schools (this was much tougher on me than kid #1 … a lot more driving overall) … then after acceptances we made a couple more Friday/weekend trips to pick among the leading contenders.</p>
<p>Fortunately I like to drive and to travel so these trips for me were fun and pretty good bonding experiences with my two oldest … I hope it works out as well with LastToGo!</p>
<p>For my youngest, and she’s in 10th, we did a very small tour this year tagged onto the end of a spring break. I had her see a city school, a big public, a medium private. She knew going in it wasn’t about finding “the” school but to see what different schools were like. Honestly she liked one so much I feel like if I knew she could get in, the search is over. However, I told her things change so much, remember the schools, not what she thought about them. We’ll look more seriously next school year, but I saw what it was about the schools she liked and didn’t and will frankly make it easier for us to find a real list later on. </p>
<p>I don’t think 10th is too early, but you certainly aren’t too late if you don’t. I like your idea of if you like big - you might like this, etc. And living in DC you have tons of options.</p>
<p>Another way to explore colleges is to look for residential summer opportunities through sports or academic camps. It is so different to live in a dorm, eat in a dining hall and walk all over campus for a week or two than it is to visit for a single afternoon.</p>
<p>Our family started visiting campuses AUG before D’s junior year. We took regions in chunks. First NH/Vermont, then a few months later we did central/northern NY. The following AUG we did Conn./R.I. All the other colleges on our D’s list she actually attended “preview weekend/day” events. She only ended up applying to one school site unseen. And yes, she ened up with quite a different set of priorities than when she started but that’s great as she pretty much knew exactly what she wanted come decision time. She also had a chance to re-visit her top 2 choices during April “preview week,” which allowed her to make an informed choice.</p>
<p>To those who say before summer after junior year might be too early I say only if your student’s choices are regionally clustered together. If your student has a scattered list with plenty of miles to cover, planning earlier and taking trips earlier is fine. For those early trips(before senior year) Bring something to take video with and make sure to film the dorm rooms(that you get to see), dining halls and the dept building for intended major as after about 5 schools they all start to blend together and having reference on video will help.</p>
<p>Our kids also had attended camps on various college campuses and "living’ there for that week or whatever gave them a very good idea of what they wanted and didn’t want. They haven’t wavered from what they want in size, location, etc. since 9th grade.</p>
<p>DW and I are adamant on the 500 mile radius. Which keeps visits efficient and concentrates the evaluation. I can see starting early if you’re not going to have geographic boundaries.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree that if you have the resources and the opportunity attending a summer program on campus, it is an invaluable way to really get to know a school.</p>
<p>Both D’s attended summer programs at NYU the summer before their senior year and it really sealed the deal for them. We had visited schools all through junior year, so by the time applications needed to be sent out for summer programs, both girls knew NYU was a top choice.</p>
<p>Especially for our younger D, I didn’t want her decision to ED NYU be based on her older sister’s experience. I wanted her to personally experience living in NYC for several weeks and specfically to experience their studio art program.</p>
<p>For both of them, attending these summer programs gave them an edge in the admissions process. For older D, the cost of the summer program was more than made up for by the scholarship $ she received as a result of her program director getting to know her that summer. Younger D she was able to write about her summer experience in her essays and attending the program helped her access professors to screen her portfolio prior to her “officially” submitting it.</p>
<p>So by narrowing down their lists by February of Junior year…we were able to select which summer program to attend based on what their top choice school was at the time.</p>
<p>While on a family vacation the summer before junior year, we visited an LAC (Lawrence), just to get them used to the idea. The best piece of advice I would say is - do the tour / info session, etc. - and then just shut up and let them talk about their observations. We had visited Tulane during freshman year during a family trip to NOLA (we also have family members who had gone there, so there was that additional piece of interest) but in hindsight that was too early. We did all of our visits between January - May of junior year and my kids each applied ED that fall.</p>
<p>We haven’t put any restrictions on our kids’ college choices. They know what we can pay, they know that they don’t want a lot of debt. They have searched and found schools that work with their budget. It’s their college education, not our’s. They will most likely end up fairly close to home as most of their choices are near home but a couple are farther away and might end up being the least expensive for them. I see no reason to restrict their choices. We cut the apron strings a long time ago and are happy that our kids are confident enough to make informed decisions about something so important as a college. I think that starting somewhat early helps the comfort level for the kids too and the vacation swing throughs are a great way to do that.</p>
<p>Also, we have found that by asking as we are driving away from campus “if you had to apply today, would you and why”. It’s gotten the kids to focus on impressions right away and has helped narrow down the lists considerably. We are on round 3 and 4 of doing this and it’s worked well so far.</p>
<p>We started early. My 11th grade son has to “feel, smell, taste.” His comfort level is very emotional. Visits are a requirement.</p>
<p>6th - 9th grade, whenever he had a camp, sports, etc. on a college campus, we did a self guided tour. I often told him my opinions were based on things hanging on the walls – artwork, EC notices, etc.</p>
<p>9th grade Spring Break we were in Williamsburg and son & DH did the first “official” tour and info session. Because it was break, the tour was large and it was easy to blend in the background. He did not want anyone to know his grade level.</p>
<p>We did our next group of tours across the country August before 11th grade. Then 1 day local this April. We will do more tours out of region this summer.</p>
<p>All this has worked for us. </p>
<p>Son has many ECs and a heavy school schedule that makes visits problematic. Add to that the expense of overnight trips because he wants to be in a different climate, it just made it impossible for us to look at schools in a short period of time.</p>
<p>My 12 yr old is a homebody. If he remains this way, he probably won’t start college tours until spring 11th grade. He also is very logical. Reading about and viewing photos elicits the same reaction as actually being in a place. </p>
<p>Soft visits to the school Art Museum, sports game or performance can be a great intro to a campus.</p>
<p>IF YOU START BEFORE SPRING 11TH GRADE, BE SURE TO LOOK AT ALL ACADEMIC LEVELS. My son’s GPA has nosedived. I’m glad he has looked at differing levels up to this point.</p>
<p>The prospect that; anyone can form an informed opinion about “fit” in 24-48 hours? is absurd. There aren’t any alternatives, but I am very skeptical of kids that come home from a 1500 mile 3 day sojourn and proclaim they’ve “found their match!” That kind of epiphany is ridiculous - and so is the assertion that none of the 300 schools they flew over, to get there, couldn’t have worked out either…</p>
<p>A data point regarding college environment suitability, an impression of a college, from a kid at age 14 is certainly not equal in value to a data point at age 17, but I think it is important to remember that kids are always evolving (and will continue evolving at a significant clip for a few years after they leave home), and maybe by examining data points at ages 14, 15, 16, and 17 some insight may be gained into what directions, in the different areas of the kid’s life, the kid is moving. Maybe.</p>
<p>giterdone–well I guess our kids are just different. There have been schools we’ve visited that we knew in 5 minutes wouldn’t work. They have done plenty of research on the schools beforehand for programs offered, etc. and haven’t visited any schools that didn’t match what they wanted academically. The visits are totally for fit for them. Out of the 30+ schools we’ve visited for the various kids, only a few were not good fits for them. It’ is totally possible and done every day.</p>
<p>Our son, for example, made a list of about 12 schools that offer the program he wants. He did some research online about campus location and size as well as the EC’s he wanted and narrowed down that list to 6 schools. He has visited 5 of the 6 with the 6th coming up this summer. He is happy to attend any of these schools. He looked at 2 other schools that were in close proximity to a couple of these schools and within a couple minutes knew they were not for him for various reasons. His final decision will come down to who wants to give him the most money to attend.</p>
<p>For our D, no, most of the schools between here and the 20 hour away one will not work for her as they either don’t have some of the programs she wants or they are in locations she doesn’t want to be in. Fine with us, it’s her schooling. She also has a list of about 6 schools she is happy to attend ranging from 1 1/2 hours away to 20 hours away. We are comfortable with her choices and can see her excelling at any of them. Again, it’s going to come down to who whats to give her the most money to attend. For both kids currently looking at schools their #1 choices have been there #1 choices since they were in about 4th grade. I wouldn’t call them all that rare, they just fell in love with those schools early on and haven’t had a reason to change their minds.</p>
<p>I disagree. Feelings and impressions are important too. You can meet a person and pretty quickly decide that you like or don’t like them. You can take a trip and pretty much decide that this vacation spot is for you or not for you. I agree with you that the concept of only “one true match” isn’t a smart one - but I disagree that you cannot ascertain fit from a visit. Indeed, we felt enough lack of fit from just a few hours on some campuses that we canceled the remainder of our tours and went on to different pastures.</p>
<p>Like I said, I don’t have any alternative suggestions. And I admit, absent any other way, its what needs to be done. I just (somewhat) resent the process being made more than what it is, or even approximating a “science”</p>
<p>We really are digressing into a “nanny state” of “comfort, fit, feelings, etc…” Back in our day (I’m including all us parents), think about our selection process? The first time I laid eyes on my college? was the day I showed up to move in. And I was 1 for 1 in the application process. Applied, accepted, and went, all starting in June of my grad year… It was a LOT simpler back then, and we comprise the strongest middle class in history.</p>
<p>Many (MANY!) of my peers transferred schools like changing socks, when majors changed, interests changed, money changed… If you picked a school, and you made a mistake? big deal - how can you be expected to “feel” what’s right for the next 4 years, in 48 hours? unrealistic. Yes there are costs associated with transferring, but I would be willing to bet that; despite all the pre-screening? transfer rates are about the same as they were 20+ years ago.</p>
<p>giterdone–your experience with colleges is not what I had at all. Most kids I graduated with applied to about 4 or 5 schools, did visits and the only ones I knew that transferred did so because of a 3-2 type program. Most of my friends went to somewhat selective LAC so that might be part of the difference. I would suspect that you see more transferring at state schools but I am just guessing. I don’t know that the process was simpler back then, the process hasn’t really changed at all other than you can fill out the common app or apply online. The PERCEPTION of getting into schools has changed however and people MAKE it into a much more difficult process than it really is, why, I don’t know.</p>
<p>"We really are digressing into a “nanny state” of “comfort, fit, feelings, etc…” Back in our day (I’m including all us parents), think about our selection process? The first time I laid eyes on my college? was the day I showed up to move in. "</p>
<p>Why is that a nanny state? I did the exact same thing 25 years ago that my kids did today. My parents took me on college tours; I liked some places and didn’t like others, and made my lists accordingly. For such a big investment, why wouldn’t I want it to feel comfortable? For some people in particular, that’s necessary to doing their best - to feel like they’ve “found their tribe” or feel some kind of connection. I feel that way with parts of the country too - for example, Boston feels like home to me, even though I have never lived / gone to school there. I don’t see anything wrong with taking that into consideration when formulating lists or making major decisions. You have to be happy, too.</p>
<p>We didn’t “do visits” when I went to college, but my college was also a pretty awful fit for me for a variety of reasons. I coped, and never even considered transferring (I didn’t even know what other options existed). I am very happy to be able to provide my kids with more of a choice than I ever had.</p>
<p>Regarding the comment on different academic levels, that is very important. We have both academic & financial (relatively inexpensive) options on D2’s visit list as well as reaches and higher priced options. Ex-H and I got divorced during D1’s senior year of HS, throwing a real wrench into finances for her for college. It worked out okay, but only due to a nice merit scholarship at a school she really liked. I’ve made sure D2 has “financial safeties” on her list, and I will insist she apply to one so we have a financial “out” right up until May 1 in case I get hit by a bus or something. Aside: my kids know that it would be bad news for college finances if I were hit and injured so I couldn’t work, but it is okay if I am killed – I have hefty life insurance. :)</p>
<p>I liken some of this to looking for a spouse or partner. Sure, in some cultures, you meet “the one” at the altar and it works out. But here we usually suggest kids have friendships, date a bit, figure out who they are and what they want. Not rush in. We let them know there is no “perfect,” but hope they find what empowers them. Of course, I’m stretching this- many don’t want 10th graders to play the field, but college visits are a look ahead to an important phase in their lives. </p>
<p>I don’t think anyone here said indulge the kids. One reason for our early visits was that D1 was in a defiant stage- wanted to go as far away as possible. She once even stated, Hawaii or Alaska. We were concerned about the costs and inconvenience of the routine travel, even to the west coast. We thought that seeing local colleges would give some dimension to what college is about and, as she noted (and got through) her own reaction to the superficals, she would then concentrate on an academic match and the social climate she preferred. It worked. We also made it crystal clear that fin aid mattered. </p>
<p>The whole thing, whether the four of us went or just one parent/one kid, was an incredible bonding experience.</p>
<p>I’m sure some parents do the visit thing as much for them as their kids. In some circles, it’s a rite of passage like debutante balls. I don’t think they’re a necessity. And good thing I feel that way since I don’t have the resources for them But if I did have the resources, I’d have definitely do them as I do see a benefit in them.</p>
But if I did have the resources, I’d have definitely do them as I do see a benefit in them.</p>