| Let's not be elitest and talk about how trivial flying internationally to visit colleges is. Maybe the poster is hoping to get financial aid for some of his/her expenses. Any way, the expense of visits is nothing to sneeze at and I don't think it's totally necessary.
We used videos - look online - you can get somewhat objective tours of many major colleges. One school looked so dreary with city buses driving by in the middle of the campus. Also you can find out a lot about the intangibles - feel, atmosphere, etc. from guides like Fiske and from asking people and from sites like this one.
Maybe academics and prestige are the most important thing. Or financial aid. Then go with that. Otherwise you can find out a lot about a school without visiting - is it nurturing? If you're in a different country than your family, you don't want a cold, bureaucratic school if you can avoid it. Are the kids big partyers? Do they get drunk all the time because there's nothing else to do? Are many people depressed? Is it competitive or cooperative? Is Greek life, sports, all important? What's the ratio of girls to boys? I was able to get this information without visiting. |