Value of Informal/Unofficial Visits

mantori.suzuki · 07-07-2009, 10:46 AM

What do you think of informal or unofficial visits as a valid determinant of whether a kid will like a given school?

I ask because, in order to fit in more visits, we've done a few on our own, without the admissions office's involvement. We just show up, walk around, try the food, check out the library, and try to get a sense of the atmosphere. Since my son is interested in science, we also pop into a science building or two, look at the research posters on the walls, peek into the labs, maybe ask a question or two of the students (who are always willing to help).

Three of our eight visits so far have been this kind.

I haven't decided if this is better or worse than doing an official visit. It's definitely more relaxed, and the impression we get is untainted by official dogma. On the other hand, we don't get to see how the school chooses to present itself, and of course the school doesn't have a record that we were there.

Your thoughts?

mrsref · 07-07-2009, 11:05 AM

We also did a few on our own. After a while, the tours get predictable anyways. Here's the dining hall, here's a dorm, here's the library, see all the emergency call boxes....with the exception of a dorm room, you can get that on your own.

I think self-tours are a good way to add/remove schools from the list. Sometimes kids get a feeling that they don't like a school within 10 minutes of arriving on campus, and their mind is made up.

For schools that S likes on your self-tour, it might be worthwhile to later take an official visit if it's not too inconvenient. Like you said, to see how the school presents itself.

I think if your S applies to a school, you should try to assess how the school values "demonstrated interest". If it's important, make sure you go back for an official visit before admissions decisions are made.

lilmom · 07-07-2009, 11:05 AM

mantori, we've been doing unofficial visits w/the kids for a while now. For example, in DC last yr, we walked around Georgetown, had lunch at GWU and hung out at USNA for the afternoon. There were some smaller schools that we scouted out, but didn't stop. It was interesting to people watch - and during the summer it isn't so hectic. Last winter, we did a quick tour of socal (San Diego specifically) of schools and the campuses were virtually empty and the schools felt bigger than they normally would.
If there's time, I like the idea of seeing the school w/o a guide and then w/one. What does your child think? What would he/she want to see in a school? Sometimes we get caught up in telling them and forget to ask. My kids wouldn't even get out the car at one school - but they may decide later that it has the program they're looking for.
I choose my school on paper first and then visited the campuses.

thumper1 · 07-07-2009, 11:08 AM

Some schools use "demonstrated interest" as a criteria for admission. In other words...an official visit and interview (if they have one) is a good thing to demonstrate. In other cases, your informal visits are just fine. You can't do things like sit in on classes during informal visits, and you also can't schedule times to talk to folks in particular departments. Also, there are some buildings which you will not be able to enter for security reasons (tour guides have the card to use to get into campus buildings).

But if your kid really likes a campus, you can always schedule another visit through admissions to do the above things.

ingerp · 07-07-2009, 12:58 PM

Informal visits are great for a first cut. The most valuable piece of information from any visit for DS#1 was getting a sense of the student population. He could tell within a few minutes if it looked like a group of kids he'd fit in with. After every single visit he had a very quick, definitive "maybe" or "no way". All the "maybe"s stayed on the list.

I agree that all of the schools that your child is seriously interested in deserve another visit, either in the fall or in the spring after acceptances/aid packages are out.

NewHope33 · 07-07-2009, 02:29 PM

Most of our college visits were informal ... this after having our intelligence insulted during a couple of formal presentations. [One rude example: "We don't favor ED applicants." And yet their own handout showed half the incoming class came from the 15% of applicants who were ED.] You can learn a lot if you are courteous and outgoing. And as lilmom pointed out, it's a wonderful opportunity to people watch!

PS, We preferred to visit when school was in session. More people to talk to, and the cafeteria was much more likely to be open.

ucsd_ucla_dad · 07-07-2009, 02:34 PM

I think the informal visits are good for a first cut as well. In addition, I think it's important to check out the surrounding area since the student will be living there for 4 years or so. If the college seems to be appealing enough based on the first cut, they can then do an 'official' tour but I agree, some of these are fairly cookie cutter tours.

Even when it's informal, sometimes a random student will be willing to let you tour their dorm room. My D did this for a few people who looked sort of lost and looking around. The dorm room tour is pretty high on the importance list for most students so it's good to get that in whether formally or informally.

bclintonk · 07-07-2009, 03:28 PM

For my D, both official and unofficial visits have been most helpful in narrowing the search by ruling out certain schools, and eventually certain categories of schools. We started out with a pretty big list of schools that looked good on paper, but the paper search reveals only so much. It all becomes much clearer when you visit. The official information session isn't necessary; hear 2 or 3 of them and they all sound pretty much the same. The official tours are sometimes more informative. Yes, they all tend to be pretty similar, and all are designed to highlight the most positive aspects of the school. But as long as the tour group isn't too large and the student guide is reasonably personable, it's an opportunity to spend an hour or so with a current student. Some are quite forthcoming about their own personal likes, dislikes, and insights into the school; many won't reveal much on their own initiative but they generally will respond to questions. You need to guard against the tendency to let the school to take on the personality of the particular student guide, which is not fair either to the school or to your student. But appropriately bounded, it can be an informative exercise. Often an informal visit will be almost as revealing, however, and sometimes that's all your schedule will allow.

It took 3 or 4 visits to big schools, each prompting the response from my D that "It's so big, I'm not sure I'd be entirely comfortable here," before the thought finally crystallized that she really had a strong preference for small schools. We've looked at a couple of bigger schools since then, but now even the smaller research universities feel too big to her. So we're focused on LACs, and she's happy with that direction. Informal visits were as important in clarifying that preference as formal visits.

I will say, though, that in my D's case the most strongly favorable responses to schools have come during visits in which there's been a lot of interaction with students (tours guides, sometimes current students invited to participate in information sessions, class visits, after-class chat with students, dining hall interactions, etc), as well as positive interaction with admissions officers. The schools currently at the top of her list are there because they not only have the right facilities and right physical and geographical setting, but also a good curricular fit, the right balance of academic rigor and exciting ECs, and a campus culture that is also a good fit for her. Some of these latter factors may be harder to discern from an unofficial visit that provides less contact with current students and college officials.

seekingknowledge · 07-07-2009, 07:40 PM

In addition to the posts above I will add the following...the meetings with the professors in the departments of interest to my daughters were the most impressive (or not) turning points for them. We often just asked for the meetings and a modified session and tour. The schools always accepted the request. I was perfect for the girls. Interaction with the student body as also crucial.

Marian · 07-07-2009, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Some schools use "demonstrated interest" as a criteria for admission. In other words...an official visit and interview (if they have one) is a good thing to demonstrate.

To find out whether this is a criterion for admission, look up the college on :: College Planning Made Easy | Inside Source for College Admissions Requirements, click on "Admissions," and scroll down to the list of criteria for admissions.

If "Level of Applicant's Interest" is on the list (as it is, for example, at both Wellesley College and Washington University in St. Louis), then it's worth making an official visit, where your child signs in before the information session and tour (and interviews if the school offers on-campus interviews). If "Level of Applicant's Interest" is not listed (as is the case, for example, at Brown University and Cornell University), it does not make any difference whether your child's visit is official or unofficial or nonexistent. The school doesn't care.

menloparkmom · 07-07-2009, 08:07 PM

Marian, that link was to the Collegeboard opening page, not to a page showing College Planning Made Easy | Inside Source for College Admissions Requirements

Marian · 07-07-2009, 08:23 PM

I meant to link to the Collegeboard home page. I don't know why those other words showed up here.

toadstool · 07-08-2009, 09:18 AM

Would filling one's file with letters show interest? Attending a weekday info session at colleges across the country is nearly impossible.

For example:

Would a letter from a student saying that they did an unofficial visit, liked the school and has a question show interes?

Or if one received a "come to our open house" post card for a date you can't possible get off from from engineering research internship, could one show interest by sending a letter or email apologizing for not attending due to [insert description incredible summer internship].

Or is that just a waste of everyone's time.

mantori.suzuki · 07-08-2009, 12:15 PM

toadstool, excellent question.

TrumpetDad · 07-08-2009, 12:43 PM

This is a great question. We did almost all formal visits for my daughter, and I started to see the pattern mentioned by mantori.suzuki. I was especially put off by one large Florida state school whose tour guide was greatly exaggerating the status of various academic departments.

My son is in the very early stages now, and I've been pondering an altered strategy this time around. We know a student at Bucknell and had him show us around in February. My son gave his approval, so it's staying on the list [it all seemed a bit too perfect for me, but it's really his list]. In this case, it was more or less on our way to somewhere else we were going, so it wasn't a great time commitment.

We'll certainly go back for a formal visit later on, but the informal visit seems like a pretty good way to help formulate the list ... without the propaganda.