<p>Ok, so this is the summer before my senior year. I already visited one college, but now I have to make an informed decision: do I visit the rest now or after I am accepted (e.g. between April and May 1st of the senior year)? Please argumentize your response.</p>
<p>I'm going to visit wherever I get accepted, for now I'm using websites like CC, Student review, theu, campus dirt and books like fiske guide etc to norrow down choices after I get my acceptance letter then I'll visit, around spring break. That way I won't be wasting money on schools that won't even accept me.</p>
<p>I would visit them before you apply. There were several colleges on my initial list which, upon visiting, I decided against applying to. It's a good way to narrow down your options.
A lot of colleges look good on paper, but don't feel right when you actually get there. When you visit them before applying, you also get a better of idea of what you're really looking for in a college, which colleges actually deliver on what you want. Liking one college more than you thought may put another, similar college on the list and make your list one that better reflects what you'd be happiest with.
I would think it would be better to choose colleges that you get a good feel from and apply to them. If you get into some or all of the colleges you applied to sight unseen, there's the chance that you'll discover that you're choosing which one you don't like least, not which one you like best. In an ideal world, you'd get to visit before applying and after getting in, to make sure that your initial observations/feelings were correct.</p>
<p>The thing is, my college list is very short already, only about 6 top computer science colleges. Just giving specifics of my situation.</p>
<p>Since you're starting out with such a narrow field/number of colleges to consider, perhaps revisiting would be best. In case you end up not getting into the top six options, as horrifying a prospect as that is, you might want to look at a couple of safeties that you like, just to make sure there's a net.</p>
<p>Make sure to go while classes are in session and students are on campus. Visiting during the dead months of the summer or breaks can give one a skewed impression. It may be worth sticking around into the evening or over one day of a weekend as well.</p>
<p>Definitely want to try and visit while classes are in session. There are a couple of helpful articles on CollegeToolkit.com, written by some school counselors:</p>
<p>CollegeAnswer also has a helpful piece on this topic:
<a href="http://www.collegeanswer.com/selecting/content/sel_nar_visit.jsp%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeanswer.com/selecting/content/sel_nar_visit.jsp</a></p>
<p>I actually didn't visit most of the schools on my list. Instead I visited a small school, a big school, etc., all in the area, and narrowed my list down that way. I also made sure to see Newhouse, to have a standard for judging communications facilities against.</p>
<p>Now, most of the schools I am applying to are on the opposite coast, so it wouldn't be feasible to visit until I'm accepted.</p>
<p>One thing for sure though is to make sure to visit when school is in session, at least for one of your trips. A pretty campus is nothing, it is all about the vibe the other kids give you and how it feels when it's most alive.</p>