Two or three of the schools we plan to visit out of 6-7 have not posted tour days/times yet. It’s frustrating because I’m trying to coordinate multiple visits into a very long road trip. Plus it’s around the 4th of July so some schools aren’t touring at all that week but some are just closed on the 4th. I’d like to get my plan in place but these unknowns are holding us up.
Anyone else trying to schedule summer plans?
They may not have summer sessions or the sessions are full.
I am thinking about taking my D to the east coast to visit MIT but MIT does not have both info sessions and campus tours in June. I probably will wait for MIT to come to my town.
Call them.
We ran into that when we were searching too as we needed to plan ahead for taking time off from work. We were mostly OK with getting into the tours we needed but at some schools we ended up having to do a self guided tour. If you need to go that route, I would recommend contacting the department for your child’s major to see if you can stop in for additional information. At one school we ended up getting an impromptu tour of the building and labs, plus a ton of information from everything to class size to scheduling. The admin that walked us around also pulled students into the conversation. Made a very favorable impression on our daughter. There were also some schools that allowed us to do a private tour (there was a nominal fee) if they weren’t offering full tours that day.
That said, you may run into trouble over the 4th of July weekend with departments being closed and no summer classes in session. Go ahead and contact the admissions offices and see what can be arranged.
As an aside, we were very impressed with some of the self guided tours. Very well thought out, lots of information on the packet/map, and we could spend more/less time in the areas that matter most to our daughter. Just don’t be afraid to stop students and ask questions if they aren’t rushing around to class. Most students were eager to share their excitement about their school.
Thank you! I’ve been checking over the last months so I don’t think they are full but who knows. Yes, at least one does not offer that week so I’m trying to see if we can use the end of the week for a few schools or just need to start touring the following week.
@momofsenior1 I’m glad to hear that self guided can be positive. One of the schools without a schedule is someplace I think might be a really good fit for DS.
We have toured 4 schools so far and he has ended up crossing all of them off his top list. One that was his #1 pick is now just a slight mention. I am curious to see what he finds that really excites him and seems like a fit. Of course, that is all going to be dependent on admissions and finances.
@drewsmom17 - My daughter crossed off her #1 on paper after her visit too. We toured 15 places and she applied to 8. It was eye opening to see what she ended up gravitating too and what became the more important factors. As an aside, we were not on the same page, but I kept reminding myself that it is her process and we were just along for the ride. That said, there were some personally sad cross offs (our alma matter and Northwestern were the most painful for my husband and I ; ).