Advice about college visits

NotMamaRose
Sun, 06 Aug 2006 16:44:43 +0000

Hey, gang,
I am beginning to lay out a plan (as organized as possible) for taking my D to visit some of the college programs (BFA in MT) that are on her radar. At present, the list is kind of long, and I doubt we will have the time of $$$ to visit them all. But we have to start somewhere, which is why I am coming to all of you wise people.
Does anyone have an advice about:

how to winnow a list down so that it is realistic in terms of how many colleges to visit, and

does it makes sense to try to visit – on one trip – several programs which are at least somewhat geographically proximate? and

what should we make sure to see and do while on campus? Did/does everyone take the cook’s tour, organized by the admissions office and then schedule a separate tour of the performing arts dept? (Of course, we would arrange this ahead of time)

how important is it for an aspiring BFA in MT to see a musical production on campus while visiting?

how long (hours or days) does the average visit last? I know I sound stupid, but I did not get to visit colleges myself before I applied, way back when. So I have NO idea how much time to plan when we embark on this venture.
My D is a rising hs junior, so at least we have some time. But my husband and I both work full time and have another child, so neither of us can just take off for a week at a time to do this. We also cannot afford to fly back and forth; all the visits will be made by car.
Anything else anyone can tell me about their own experiences is greatly appreciated. I really feel out of my league here.
Lisa