Although we are just starting the college process, I have been through a slightly different version when looking at boarding schools, so here’s my take.
I preferred open houses to individual tours. Usually, open houses had panels and info sessions that gave us a lot of good information in an easy to access format. Of course, you only saw what the administration wanted you to see as they were putting their best foot forward, but that was also a data point as to what the school valued. Open houses were a great starting point and helped us make decisions about what schools we wanted to explore more.