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Help with planning campus tours in the Midwest this weekend!
squ1rrel
456 replies38 threads Member
So I'm an upcoming sophomore from the northeast—the reason I'm doing some college visits so early is because one of my parents lives in Pittsburgh but may be moving out soon, so we want to take the luxury of being able to drive a reasonable amount to Midwestern colleges.
Anyways, I'll likely depart this weekend and spend 3-4 days, but the dates are flexible, as I don't have anything going on. I'm really not knowledgeable in how college visits work. As for colleges, I'm looking for strong CS departments (as an Asian—totally not stereotypical lmao). I don't know why I haven't visited CMU yet—that thought just occurred to me. So far, I'm thinking of Purdue, UIUC, U of Mich, and U Wisconsin. There's also U Chicago and Northwestern, as well as Wash U St. Louis (closer to UIUC than UWisc), but I'm not sure if I'll be applying to private elites. But the campuses do look pretty, and this may be my only chance to ever see them (side question—how do colleges know you've visited??) Any advice would be appreciated, as to how I should schedule these visits, and how exactly I should go about with my route (some of them are quite far away despite being in the Midwest). The one non-negotiable school to attend is UIUC, which is pretty much my dream school. Everything else is flexible.
Thanks!
16 repliesAnyways, I'll likely depart this weekend and spend 3-4 days, but the dates are flexible, as I don't have anything going on. I'm really not knowledgeable in how college visits work. As for colleges, I'm looking for strong CS departments (as an Asian—totally not stereotypical lmao). I don't know why I haven't visited CMU yet—that thought just occurred to me. So far, I'm thinking of Purdue, UIUC, U of Mich, and U Wisconsin. There's also U Chicago and Northwestern, as well as Wash U St. Louis (closer to UIUC than UWisc), but I'm not sure if I'll be applying to private elites. But the campuses do look pretty, and this may be my only chance to ever see them (side question—how do colleges know you've visited??) Any advice would be appreciated, as to how I should schedule these visits, and how exactly I should go about with my route (some of them are quite far away despite being in the Midwest). The one non-negotiable school to attend is UIUC, which is pretty much my dream school. Everything else is flexible.
Thanks!
Post edited by CCEdit_Suraj on
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: Help with planning campus tours in the Midwest this weekend!
Most big schools have online tour and info sign ups -- the tours will be helpful to give you a sense of the campus and student life. Info sessions at public flagships often include a lot of info that is available online so can be skippable though these schools often offer smaller, topic-specific info sessions, such as for College of Engineering or College of Science, which would be more useful for you, particularly if they offer admissions insight.
When we made college visit treks, we tried to keep it to a single school a day, unless they were very close, like consortium schools. The schedule that worked for us was to arrive in town the evening before the visit, stay in the campus hotel at the Union if possible, then attend morning tours and sessions, get lunch, hang around a bit, then drive to next location to be in town and ready for next day's visit. You might be able to do an early morning Purdue visit and an afternoon UIUC visit, but otherwise, you are looking at a school-a-day. Another consideration -- look at the Common Data Set for each school to see if they take into account "demonstrated interest" for admissions -- if they don't consider demonstrated interest, then visiting helps you build your list by either adding or subtracting but is not an admissions factor. So, you may not need to visit all of these if you plan on applying to, say, Michigan, no matter what. Also, research these schools to identify how they handle direct admits for highly competitive majors such as CS, and what percentage of the class is reserved for in-state applicants (UIUC is around 60% instate now, I think, as is UW, though about another 15% at UW is Minnesota reciprocity so only 25% non WI and MN residents). Lastly, check with your parents about finances -- many public flagships do not offer a lot of financial aid to out of state students. The upside for a full pay family can be that tuition at UW, Purdue etc. is still less than full pay at a private, so can be a cost-effective option. But for a family eligible for substantial financial aid at private schools, the financial aid award at out of state publics may not suffice (on your list, Michigan is known for better financial for out of state students, but the other publics are not).
Good luck to you! Make sure to enjoy and have fun and not get stressed out!
I think I may try to squeeze in Purdue and UIUC in one day, as well.
If you are just looking for a general quick feel, just walk around. If you want to really demonstrate interest, spend the day at the schools that speak to you the most.
Note, there is a ton of road construction right now in OH, IN, and IL. Travel times for us this summer have been brutal. Also, lots of construction projects on campus at both Purdue and Northwestern.
And right next to East Hall, there's a brand new chic apartment building being finished for this Fall, called Vic Village.
And at some point, there's going to be a new Football Performance Center building built, but that's South Campus.
CMU and Pitt’s campus border each other so that could be one day. Then Michigan and maybe Michigan State. Go to Northwestern and U Chicago (if nothing else to see the architecture and see what a top 5 school looks like). Spend the last day at UIC. That leaves off Purdue and Wisconsin but you don’t want to rush.
I like how you think, saving the best for last.
So, if you can't get a UMich tour, then I'd just drive around to various parts of the campus, get out and walk the South University and State Street shopping areas. If you have specific questions about admissions, campus, financial aid, or whatever, you can always call or just walk into that department.
But if not, the rest of your Midwestern tour sounds great! We did a similar one. Our first stop was Case Western, in Cleveland, which could be worth a look for you.