College visits - better for applicant to make arrangements?

[interesteddad]

Like anything else, I think you have to alter your approach depending on the school. So here is what we figured out about my daughter's school. Use whatever may be applicable:

a) They are looking for kids whose parents allow them to take on the responsibility of young adults. In that context, the less seen and heard from parents in the admissions contacts, the better. I would NEVER sit in on a class as an adult. I would encourage the student to handle the communications with the school. I don't know if parental hovering could negatively impact an application, but it sure wouldn't earn any brownie points on the scale of student initiative the school is looking for.

b) The school is small enough that an applicant can use the admissions process to make herself known to the admissions office over time, while at the same time demonstrating the initiative to learn about the school. If the adcom knows her before the application deadline, great. If a professor mentions something to the admissions office, bonus points.

c) Every contact with the school is an "opportunity". You don't want to pester the admissions office with silly questions, so the legitimate questions are a precious opportunity, not to be squandered.

d) My daughter sent an initial e-mail request for information with a one paragraph introduction directly to her regional adcom the summer before her senior year.

e) From that point on, she went about setting up her own stuff for campus visits, sending CC: copies to the her adcom. So for example, she e-mailed several professors asking if their classes would be appropriate to sit in on...copying the adcom. He didn't have to lift a finger, but he could see her initiative. And, of course, each contact with a particular department or activity defined a particular interest that she planned to feature on her application. He probably could have filled out the bullet-point list for her application index card before he even got the application.

f) In one case, she couldn't tell which of two staff members (at an extracurricular organization) would be the right person for her to contact. So she e-mailed the adcom: "As, you know I've been involved in [this activity] for four years, so I've been researching the XXXXX organization on campus. I think that Ms ??????? would be the right person for me to contact for a meeting when I visit, but it might be Mr. CCCCC. Is Ms. ???????? the appropriate contact?"

And, so on and so forth. It avoids the whole problem of "pestering" the admissions office with dumb questions that could be answered from the website. The questions and contacts actually arise from properly researching the website. Every contact is a legitimate action for a diligent applicant trying to learn if the school is right. But, the adcom doesn't have to do much. By the end of the process, the adcom knew enough about her interests to e-mail her an occasional link to a campus newspaper article that she might find interesting.

I'm not saying that this approach would be appropriate for every school. Some schools are just too big for anything like this to work. Some schools might not appreciate a prospect pokin' around campus to that degree. But, it worked for my daughter. She had e-mail conversations with several professors who she then met on campus during her visit. She learned a lot. And, she ended up with an adcom who knew who she was (from a stack of cc's), thus leveling the playing field with applicants from high schools that are better connected.

So, borrow what you think may be appropriate for a particular college. It's a way of thinking about the application process as an "informational sell" where you try to learn as much as you can about what makes the college tick. This process demonstrates initiative and helps put together a better application -- both of which might end up being that one little thing that gets an acceptance letter or other equally qualified applicants.

[advantagious]

I don't think it matters, especially at bigger schools/schools that receive a ton of visitors or applicants, since there is no way that you will be remembered anyway (well, maybe if you are a quadrapelgic who just climbed Mount Everest). It's a more legitimate concern than some others (there was quite the debate over whether the applicant or the interviewer should offer to buy the coffee...), but as long as the parent doesn't venture into extremely low flying helicopter land, I think it's fine either way.

[rainmama]

I admire these resourceful kids who take the initiative! Wow! But to reassure other parents, I think many parents will be the driving force in terms of organizing visits, at least at the beginning of the search (i.e. junior year trips). That seems okay to me, since many (most?) schools don't interview or offer overnight visits to juniors. At that point, it's so important to just visit different types of schools, and not to expect to pick out the schools one will apply to. Just hearing your child say "I could see myself at a school like this" can be a moment of relief! Likewise, it's also a good opportunity to eliminate a bunch of schools that sound good on paper, but where the kids don't seem engaged, or happy, or friendly - whatever your child's criteria.

[interesteddad]

Junior year visits are just scouting expeditions, really. I'm not sure that I would even sit in on classes...certainly not very many.

The process I was talking about is more of a "full-court press" starting once the list takes shape. And trust me, parents will still be a driving force. Kids aren't born knowing how to pursue an "informational sell" or really eager to sit down and e-mail professors the first time. It's a learning experience.