Campus Visit ... Overnight Visit

ellenfix1 · 02-04-2009, 01:00 PM

We are planning to visit Hendrix College in April. My son is already accepted and we're hoping this will help him decide if this is the right place for him. He will attend a class, speak with a professor or two and be able to spend some time with students.

What I want to know is, how important is an overnight in the dorms? Has anyone made a campus visit and regretted not having their child stay overnight? Has anyone had a child stay overnight, with the result being it was a deal-breaker? And can you be certain about a school w/o the overnight?

Thanks for sharing your personal experience.

masslou · 02-04-2009, 01:07 PM

I know so many kids who did overnights at only some--not all-- of their potential schools.
Almost without exception, kids choose to attend the overnight schools. Only anectodal experience--my kid is included in this--but I really believe that staying overnight is very influential on the decision to attend. In fact, my D reflects that it was probably the most influential thing......

My advice: if you are going to do any overnights, you'd better do several, if not all.

deb922 · 02-04-2009, 01:09 PM

I have a shameful confession. My S did no overnight visits, my D did 1 and did not like the school. They are both ecstatic at the schools they chose.

I think that overnights are nice and we would have loved to do them. Both kids are over 500 miles from home and went to accepted student days where overnights were not offered. It didn't make a difference to them.

MiamiDAP · 02-04-2009, 01:10 PM

D. did overnight with potential team members of Varsity team at her #1. It did not change anything. Coach was very interested before and after. She ended up at #2 for a different reason. In her case, overnight happenned to be a waste.

mini · 02-04-2009, 01:12 PM

I think it an excellent idea. If you can, schedule a Thursday night - Thursday nights tell you more about the overall feel of a campus than any other time - is the weekend already beginning, or are students still engaged in their studies?

JHS · 02-04-2009, 01:26 PM

I really wonder how many colleges are going to pass mini's Thursday night test. I think there are plenty of places where the students are very engaged in their studies as a general matter, but where a Thursday night visitor with no academic commitments would find the weekend beginning.

HarrietMWelsch · 02-04-2009, 01:27 PM

I agree that if scheduling/transportation do not present a huge inconvenience or financial problem for the family, overnights are great. D did several (coach-arranged) and S1 did some (personally arranged and arranged by the admissions office). They both felt the overnights were the most informative aspect of the whole search process. And yes, we had at least two deal-breakers.

To the OP's question about whether you can be sure about a school, without the overnight: Absolutely. For one thing, how much "fit" matters depends not just on the school, but on the individual student, too. There are kids who really want everything to feel right, and there are kids who are hardy, bloom-where-you're-planted kids. (And think of all the kids who don't get into their heart's desire, #1 must-have school but by Thanksgiving of their first year, can't imagine themselves anywhere but at the school they ended up attending.)

For the kids who are very focused on fit, and are looking at schools where fit matters, it's really helpful if prospective students can at least spend some unstructured time - maybe hanging out in a coffee bar or dining hall, or the library, or outside if it's nice enough - in addition to class visits.

mini · 02-04-2009, 01:37 PM

"I really wonder how many colleges are going to pass mini's Thursday night test."

In our experience, LOTS of them, and lots of them will fail. They really varied.

Marian · 02-04-2009, 01:45 PM

I'm not a big believer in overnights.

They may seem to give a student an in-depth view of a college, but that view is dependent on seeing the lifestyles of a very small group of people. What happens on the overnight could be very unrepresentative of the student's future experience at the college.

Also, for relatively introverted applicants who stay with strangers, an overnight can be a very uncomfortable experience. It could give the applicant a negative view of a campus where, in the long run, that individual could be happy and successful.

MaryTN · 02-04-2009, 02:42 PM

This comes up frequently on CC and you'll find a wide variety of opinions.

For my shy D, the overnight was the clincher in her decision. She could totally see herself at that university when it was over.

She slept on the floor in a quad (!) room. She navigated the cafeteria. The kids on the dorm floor came by to tell her why she should attend. She attended 3 classes with her hostess.

She came home with a sense of "I can do this" which was invaluable.

MidwestParent · 02-04-2009, 03:00 PM

My D did NO overnights. Her argument was, "What am I going to gain or learn by sleeping on someone's dorm floor overnight?" We agreed with her. She would visit the school all day, attend classes, go back to the dorm with her host and hang around - maybe visit another dorm or two with other students, then call us when she was ready to leave. She would head back to campus the next day rested to continue seeing the things she was interested in. I don't think that staying overnight would have made one iota of difference in her decision. It is almost as random as attending classes - do you happen to attend a class on a day when the students and professor are engaged in a stimulating back and forth conversation, or do you attend on a day when not much is going on? Do you end up on an overnight with a beer drinkin', pot smokin' host or one who spends time in the evening answering your questions, introducing you to other students, etc. - I've heard stories of both. It's a crap shoot just as much as who your freshman roommate will be!

eddieodessa · 02-04-2009, 03:15 PM

I tell all of my friends to have their children spend the night. My daughter spent the night at 3 schools. The first one actually made her not want to attend the school. At the second college (the one she is most likely going to), when I picked her up she said she felt like she fit in, felt right at home, and "these are my kind of people". She enjoyed the 3rd school, as well. And is also applying there. There were major differences between school #2 and #3, but she was able to think about living at each college for 4 years and what it would be like.
I feel it is extremely important to make an overnight visit.

ucsd_ucla_dad · 02-04-2009, 03:51 PM

Neither of mine did overnights and it wouldn't have made any difference in their decisions. I can see some benefits and drawbacks though.

The benefit would be to meet people currently attending who can take the prospective student around on a different level - going to the cafeteria, going to workout, visiting other rooms, leaving the doors open, etc.

The drawback would be that the perspective of the prospective student could be unduly skewed depending on who they happen to stay with. If the room is full of major partiers and the prospect isn't interested in that scene it could be a major turn off (and vice versa). Most colleges are comprised of all different sorts of people so while the prospect might have concluded that they don't like the party atmosphere, they might have seen a completely different atmosphere if they'd happened to be in someone else's room. The party aspect is just one attribute - they might have also gotten stuck in a room with people who don't turn away from their videogames, or are unsociable, or...

It's kind of like how some students and parents make conclusions about a school based on the personality and capabilities of the student tour guide when in fact, that's a very small sample size of the student population and not necessarily indicative of it.

The Mom · 02-04-2009, 04:10 PM

Taking S2 to first overnight at one of top 2 choices this weekend. Other top choice is following week. Am hopeful S2 has strong gut feeling as to which school he prefers after both overnights.

Strong believer in the overnight experience here. S1 had one overnight that was a complete deal breaker at one school.

Jolynne Smyth · 02-04-2009, 04:36 PM

This is so interesting! Not a single one of the (maybe 4?) schools I asked to arrange overnights for son would agree (said there were liability issues). Guess it varies....