We made a habit, starting when our oldest was in the ninth grade, of visiting universities when on vacation: San Francisco (Cal Berkeley), NYC (Columbia), Los Angeles (UCLA), and so forth and so on. One summer we took an intensive school visit trip and saw nearby historical attractions when visiting colleges: UVA (Monticello), W&M (Williamsburg), Wake Forest (Old Salem), etc. I think this helped the children in discerning schools and also broke up the monotony of a visit intensive schedule for younger brother.