We have a spring tour visit scheduled for 5 colleges in April and we’re planning on another tour to a handful out east during the summer months. My thought is that the best time would be end of August because many schools will already be back in session. Any thoughts from others? thanks!
Yes, it’s ALWAYS better to visit when school is in session, and it’s always better to visit on a school DAY, not a weekend.
Even residential schools can seem “dead” on weekends because college students are notorious for sleeping in (LATE) on weekends, and then once awake, just lounging around their dorm, doing laundry, etc. So, while there are many warm bodies on campus during weekends, you may not see that many actually doing stuff.
We did some late August visits before my kids’ were back in high school. It worked out well and we were able to see colleges when they were in session.
Unless you have no other option, visit school during session, but not the first week, midterm or finals time.
I agree with everyone else. I would definitely prioritize visiting while school is in session, even if means missing some days of high school to do so. It is such an important decision, and you really cannot get a good idea of the school and how well you’ll fit there unless it’s in session.
Just make sure the college is actually in session! I made the mistake of scheduling a late August visit to RISD with my D, before her school started. Took a day off from work, drove 5 hours…and classes had not started yet, and we did not get to see the dorms, dining hall, or any of the academic buildings other than the freshman studio. What a wasted day! We had a better experience with some fall open houses that were on weekends. Most students stick around for weekends in the fall, and the weather is usually nice.
We did visit my son’s college for the first time in the middle of the summer, and took a family vacation around it. It’s a pretty small school so we didn’t think we needed to see it when classes are in session. They did a good job with their summer tours. Last summer our D did a one week summer workshop at SCAD and we also took a family vacation around that.
thanks everyone, good info! That’s what we’re planning to do…summer vacation/college visits. We live in Michigan so we’ll be going out to MA, CT, VT and ME. I’m also checking with the schools to make sure they’re indeed, in session the week we plan to go. Good tip on the fall weekends. If we to, we’ll make plans to do that as well.