<p>We have two daughters. D1 is a high school junior, and D2 is 12 year old and in seventh grade.</p>
<p>We are doing college visits in Virginia during the upcoming spring break, and I'm wondering if there are any activities for D2 to do when we are on a campus, while big sis is attending workshops or classes or interviews. Are there any "tried and true" places on a college campus (any college campus) that would surely fascinate a 'tween? </p>
<p>I would also be interested if you have anecdotes to share about what a particular college did or had to entertain a younger sibling on college visits.</p>
<p>I’ve not encountered a college that “did” something for young siblings. I’m guessing they might comp a meal or give you a discount coupon for the bookstore if you ask. Perhaps you and your spouse can split up and one can go along on the college tour and the other can do something with the younger sib either on the campus or in the town. If you are doing more than one college tour reverse roles.</p>
<p>My 11 year old was totally bored during an accepted students tour we took. She liked the tour and seeing the campus, but was really bored during all the presentations. She brought some books to read.</p>
<p>She had also brought a pad and a few markers and I started a game with her, I’d make a weird squiggle and she’d have to draw a picture from it. Then she would do a squiggle for me. Kept us going the whole time the faculty were talking, and we have some funny pictures to keep from the day.
We are making other plans for her the next time we go.</p>
<p>Our plan for the younger siblings was that the child touring schools picked a parent to go along on the trip and the other parent stayed home with the sibs.</p>
<p>We did take little sis on some of big bro’s college visits. However, one of us went with the college kid and the other either stayed at the hotel or house we were staying at and entertain little sis. In all cases, we were spending a full day at the college town, so we all met as a family to go to dinner and check out the surrounding areas of the colleges.</p>
<p>The tried and true places are usually the bookstore and the student union and you can wander the college town and campus to get a feel for it; at 12,these things may keep her entertained. Though keep in mind how many visits you’re doing; while it may be fun to hang out on a few campuses or in a few student unions for a couple hours, it will get old if she is expected to do this for a full week as you visit 1-2 schools each day. While colleges don’t do anything specific for younger sibs, when I was a tour guide the admissions office and the office for student life would get calls explaining that there will be younger sibs along and asking if there were any suggested activities; you may want to call as sometimes they can point you to art exhibitions/science demonstrations on campus that you otherwise wouldn’t know about or can direct you to a game or open sports practice that could be fun to watch for a few hours. If she’s into sports, she may actually like spending a nice spring afternoon watching a college baseball game. Keep in mind for many of these activities, you’d probably want to send one parent with her as 12 is quite young for a college campus, and you don’t want her wandering to out of the way buildings and stadiums alone; the student unions and bookstores are typically in the center of campus and quite busy so they would likely be fine. If the schedule allows it, it may be good to get gaps in between tours where you can do a family vacation type activity whether it’s sightseeing, shopping or just going to the hotel pool; she’ll be happier if she doesn’t feel like the entire spring break is being spent on her sister while she tags along.</p>
<p>I would also suggest that the parents have a “plan” in case the little sis gets antsy. There should be a plan for one parent to take the sister elsewhere. You don’t want to ruin a college visit for the prospective college student because little sis is bored or has had it with college info sessions.</p>
<p>If it’s one college and one info session she’ll be OK, if it’s crowded have her stay in the back or give up her seat if there aren’t enough…but if more than one I would think twice about bringing her to the presentations and I agree with Thumper.</p>
<p>I know it’s hard when you’re on a road trip, but we really tried to keep D2 out of D1s visits for a few reasons. 1) We wanted it to be about D1 and have her be able to focus on the schools and have us be able to focus on her and talk things through. 2) We didn’t want D2 to make permanent decisions based on her tween impressions. So generally only one of the parents went. </p>
<p>Having said that, on the one road trip we did, we made sure that it wasn’t all college, all the time. We would fit in a fun thing (like the Coca Cola tour in Atlanta) between college visits. So I’d say do a little pre trip research and see what fun things are in the area.</p>
<p>Some younger kids can benefit from college visits.</p>
<p>When my oldest, HS class of 2002, visted USC, he took his sister, HS classs of 2004 with him, and the youngest went to a museum with Mom.</p>
<p>When my D visited campuses in 2004, she took our youngest, HS class of 2012 with her, (he was @ 10 years old then) and he listened and commented when Mom, Dad and D discussed the visit, and he recommended she attend NU. She did, and loved it, and now he wants to apply to NU ED next year.</p>
<p>The take home lesson - for us - is that if the kid can handle the talk, he can walk the walk.
So, let the kid decide if he’s interested or not. If they are bored, they will let you know, and then just have backup plan like a book or VG ready. I think the experience has also kept our youngest on an even keel, and he’s handling the pressure of HS and The College Search pressure very well - he’s got confidence from having been through visits before. </p>
<p>Your milage may vary, but good luck regardless.</p>
<p>You get so caught up in the family thing and thinking of everyone as a “unit” that sometimes it’s difficult to stop and consider the kids as individuals. I know it was abit of a surprise to us when the time came with S1 to do college tours and it occured to us that divide and conquer was the name of the game…we had gotten used to thinking of the family as one unit and traveling as a group and all that.</p>
<p>It’s possible to have a tween like nugraddad but rare!</p>
<p>This depends entirely on the kid. Our 2014 student benefited greatly from his older brothers visits in 2010. He has no problem taking a back seat when it’s about another sibling. He also wasn’t bored. It gave him a very realistic goal of what is taken into admission decisions on the eve of starting hs. How many kids are slow starters in hs, only finding their stride midway through when they realize college is important? The trips served to let him know what was expected. He also has a better understanding of the difference between urban and rural, as well as 25k and 10k students. It’s hard to explain what that feels like until you are there. Kids may think they want urban early on only to change their minds when they actually start visits. It simply gave him a head start. It in no way took away from his brothers experience. </p>
<p>As others have said, YMMV. I don’t think our experience is that rare.</p>
<p>We took S who was in 8th grade when D was a jr. He enjoyed it and wasn’t bored. We interspersed site-seeing at local attractions between college visits. S is a jr now and still remembers the schools he toured then. At the time he thought college looked great and wanted to skip hs to go straight to college!</p>
<p>We never even considered taking younger sib along (and he was a freshman in HS). H and I split the college list - he took D to some and I did the others. We learned that H is also not very good with college visits (too hyperactive, very bored, not good with student tour guides, etc.) So this time around (with younger S) I will be the only one doing college visits. All H wants to know is “How much does it cost?”</p>
<p>Thanks for asking the question, because I’m pondering the same thing. One (only one) of DS admitted day (actually weekend) visits is at the beginning of Spring Break. It’s also a weekend, which frees up DH to attend, which would require S2 (8th grader) to attend. So we are pondering having him come on campus or splitting up and one taking him to an amusement park (close by, luckily) on at least one of the two days. Still haven’t finalized plans. </p>
<p>S2 will never have test scores to attend schools we are visiting, so even if he loves them, they are out of reach for him, so that’s a non-issue.</p>
<p>My biggest concerns are not putting out the school with an extra attendee and making sure DS has focus he needs for decision making.</p>
<p>I’ll get “flamed” for writing this but as a parent who toured an admitted student day and endured a family who dragged their 11 or 12 year old along, I say, “Leave the younger sibling at home.” It was annoying in the tour group and meeting with and academic advisor. Yes, this family brought the sib along with, to an academic advisory meeting. Ugh. they were joined at the hip. Why should colleges be babysitters for younger sibs, as in, “do they have anything for the sibling to ‘do’”? A college visit is about the student who is interested in said college.</p>