I have a couple of reach schools that I am waiting to hear from in April. The thing is, I’ll need to visit these schools if I get accepted, and they are very far away (East Coast from Minnesota). The chances of my getting in are obviously pretty slim, but if I don’t book now, airfare and hotel rates will be ridiculously high. Does anyone have experience with this kind of situation? How would you handle late college visits?
It is true that airfare and hotels are more expensive the closer you book to your travel. However, if you book your airfare at a non-refundable rate, book hotel with upfront costs via travel website, etc, then you don’t get in to the East Coast universities, then you’re out that amount of money. No reason to visit the schools that rejected you, right? Though depending on the city, e.g. New York, Boston, etc, you may make a short weekend trip with your family as a bonding experience before you depart for college if you already have the tickets.
It’s very common for students and their parents to book these trips in April after notifications are sent out in order to make the most informed decision as to where the student will ultimately attend. Like we did we our first D, and as we’ll do with our second D, we’ll bite the bullet and travel on little notice and higher costs if she gets into the schools that are far away from our home state.
Good luck.
We are in the same boat. Live in the midwest and waiting on decisions from 3 reach east coast schools. Which is why I wish decisions came in by March 1st but I guess the majority of students aren’t flying across or half way across the country for visits.
Thanks for the feedback, @notalreadyinuse. I’m hoping to convince my parents to let me visit. I’d hate to commit to a school without seeing it first!
@singermom4, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one in this position. Even though I feel like I need to visit, it seems like a shame to spend so much money before college even starts.
We flew all over the country on short notice two years ago to accepted visits at D2’s top 3 choices from MN (Philadelphia, Chicago, and LA)! It was expensive, but worth it… she changed her mind based on the visits (even after having visited before applying). And is now super happy. Trust me, better to spend the money now rather than end up in a transfer situation later. If you can only go to two, and you need to do it when it is not accepted students for one of them, still do it.
You should probably see if you can figure out when accepted student days are for ALL your colleges – you can usually tell by looking at last year’s threads around admissions time if it is not on their website (and often it isn’t). Or PM someone on CC that you can see got in ED or EA this year and ask them. It is good to know if there are conflicts between the visit days, or with stuff on yours (or your parents’) calendar.
It is cheaper if you go to accepted visits alone, but as your parents are probably paying for colleges, one of them might want to go along. We did it both ways – D1 had a lot of travel experience and went on her own. D2, not so much, so I went along and just stayed in a hotel while she stayed overnight.
Thanks so much for the info! I just mentioned traveling alone to my parents - we’re not sure whether it would be a great option for me yet, but we’re considering it to cut down on costs. I’m glad to know that the visits are worth it, in the end.
i’ve noticed that some colleges have shuttles to the airport for visiting day, which is helpful and cost-saving.
Brown was D number one school and we visited twice, second time to spend a day sitting in classes. I definitely think you should plan on visiting after you are admitted. A key issue is going to be when admitted students days are scheduled. No real way around it being on short notice
@Wje9164be I definitely want to visit Brown if I am admitted - I just don’t want to book the visit before I know the admissions decisions! I feel like I might jinx things if I do.
I didn’t have the best chances anyways, so, it might be a bit frivolous to book a visit at this point.