@happy1 but I read your post and thought, “but what if the kid doesn’t like to hunt?” JK
I think you are so wise to push to do some visiting now despite the reluctance. I have two boys and neither was terribly enthused about college visits. Spreading them out over the course of time really really helped. Mine played baseball too so we were able to dovetail some visits with our baseball travels. One thing that both boys seemed to enjoy a little more was bringing or going with a friend . . .so sometimes we did that. It really is important to identify those safeties that he will like. If he is really really reluctant, you can probably stop after you find a couple of those . . .
I feel for you, but really, it is better to do one every so often that have to squeeze them together in a bunch. Also, information sessions get really, really repetitive, and the info is generally available on the website. 90% of them tout their study abroad, their community service, and their research opportunities. None of which my sons really cared about. And then how to apply (see website). After a few info sessions, I honestly think you can sign up for the tour only and just see the campus and get a sense for the school. I felt like I could have given the spiel at half the colleges - - that’s how rare it was to hear anything fresh. Tour guides often repeat the key info anyway!
I did what the other poster said and went to see colleges over Spring Break. I told him the three we would see but gave him options on whether he would rather see some other ones. We were lucky in that our spring break was different that some of the colleges so we got to see the type of students that were there, see how far they walk to and from classes, got to see dorms, etc. If you go when the college has spring break it is sometimes hard to get a feel for the campus. I just told him that he would have to be applying in August so we needed to see some schools so he would know where to apply. It ended up being fun because one of the schools was terrible and we all (all 3 kids and husband) did not like it. We still laugh about their welcome movie to this day.
I’d force him to tour at least two, just to get the ball rolling. My kids are all involved in busy ECs as well, and my older D has a job, so it’s really time consuming and she’s already worried about taking off of work for college tours. Your S might be more motivated to find a school that’s a better fit for him once he’s able to see what’s out there for him.
FWIW, I practically had to drag S out of the house to attend the regional info session of the school he ended up attending, although he had agreed to go in advance. 
My 17 year old son has visited 7 schools, and decided to apply to 4 of them, and to 5 we have yet to see. I’m very glad we’ve seen those, even the ones he didn’t end up applying to; I would hate for him to make a decision as important as this based on a website.
What worked for my son was taking it very slow-- as in one trip to see one school per month, until last winter’s winter made us pause for a few month.
Looking at schools is “just like shopping”, which he hates. So, as important as it is, we’ve done it in small doses.
OP back. Thank you to everyone who has posted. I am so happy to get confirmation that I am not crazy (at least not about this)!
Many good points have been raised. Tours with just a brief info session are a great idea; I forgot how much it bugged me when nearly everything presented was available on the website. But it will all be new to him so I can tolerate a few.
Re why NY Catholic schools? One of his few expressed criteria (besides the silly ones like “Should have a cool mascot”) is a cold climate, so I’d at least like to accommodate that for a couple of visits. We are Catholic, but that’s a minor reason. I like the smaller school, educational focus, as I think that may fit his learning style better. I was surprised at how much more reasonable (and that is a relative term) costs are compared to school like St. Joe’s in Philadelphia, based on the merit calculators I’ve run.
Since I would like him to at least look at a broad range of options, I am trying to find places unlike Temple to visit early on. BTW, he doesn’t know much about Temple but has a favorable opinion because his buddy’s brother loves it there and another good friend is applying there now. It might work for him, but I’d like him to see some schools that are very different so he has something to compare.
Agree that what a parent thinks might work can be totally off base when you see a school in person. The university that, on paper (actually via website), seemed to me like a perfect fit for my D was the only school she really hated–but we didn’t know that until we visited. And yes, visits are critical for the “Why School X” types of questions.
He is fun to travel with as he is a good-natured kid for whom eating in a restaurant (on our dime) is still sort of a treat. So I will scope out a hotel (hopefully using some of our points) and plan the weekend.
Truly, thank you all for taking the time to reply.
While not an unwilling participant in the process, my son, who is a HS senior now, was generally apathetic about the whole thing so I ended up taking the lead. My husband was also more than happy to let me do all the legwork. But in the end the schedule that we followed for him worked well enough that I hope to employ it for our daughter (who is a sophomore now) when her time comes.
He did SAT prep in Sept/Oct of his junior year with the intent to take the November SATs. Unfortunately he was ill the day of the test and had to reschedule. Due to a previous school commitment for a music trip he was not able to take the December SATs so had to reschedule to the late January SAT which due to a snowstorm got moved two weeks to early February. We were worried that he was taking the test so many months after doing his SAT prep class but fortunately he scored well.
We took a family vacation to visit 5 schools over his spring break week and he and I did two additional visits a few weeks later (one on a school day and one on a weekend). He expressed one preference for a school he wanted to visit but other than that, I developed the list of schools to visit and shared it with him to see if he objected to any.
We weren’t sure if we were going to have him take the ACT. Ultimately we did because there was a one weekend ACT prep class (4 hours each day) where some of the cost of admission benefited our school. We signed him up for that and had him take the ACT once shortly after that prep weekend.
He was scheduled to take the SATs a second time in March but that test date happened to fall on the day of my father’s funeral so he again had to reschedule - this time to June. Since he hadn’t done any real studying since he last took the SAT in early February and since his one set of scores were good, we just decided it wasn’t worth it to take them again.
Looking back, I really appreciate how starting all of this at the beginning of the junior year gave us time to adapt to schedule issues for things outside of our control (getting sick on SAT day, funeral on SAT day, etc.). Fortunately we were able to take spring break week to knock out visits to 5 schools (the farthest of which was 8 hours away).
In the end my son will likely apply to 10 schools - the 7 that we visited (fortunately he generally liked them all) and 3 additional ones that we haven’t visited yet but will visit if he is accepted. He has already submitted applications for 6 of the 10. Of the 6 he has applied to, 2 are EA schools (one of the two being his top choice), and 2 others are rolling admissions. And as of today he has his first acceptance which has definitely taken a lot of pressure off.
Some schools make it super easy to sit in on a class if he wants to. It adds a flavor to the visit beyond what you can see on the website. Ask admissions when scheduling the tour. It adds an hour or two on campus, but we found it was worth it. Also ask if you can eat in the cafeteria. It is a great way to see students interacting. Even if it is a weekend, you can still eat in the cafeteria. Sometimes they have free passes for the students to eat, and parents usually pay.
I dragged my older son out to CA to see colleges there spring break his senior year. He pronounced them all “fine” and said he’d be happy to go anywhere as long as the Comp Sci department was okay. He really, really, really didn’t want to do any more visits. So he applied to a bunch of schools sight unseen and wouldn’t you know he got rejected from all the CA colleges except one where he was waitlisted, so we spent the month of April visiting the places he got in. Thankfully, he actually was quite willing to visit once it was more real to him and ended up very happy where he chose to go.
For younger son, we made several forays to colleges first very close during junior year winter break, a little further during spring break and another one around Labor Day senior year. He cared much more about the campus location and atmosphere. The first trip I actually took him to two places that were not what he wanted (LACs and smaller than his high school) I told him it was fine if he didn’t like them, but there were things about each school that I thought he might like and that seeing something, even if he hated it, would give him a better idea of what he wanted. Interestingly, I think he was less happy with his final choice than older brother.
I agree with the posters above who suggest making it more of a vacation, with interesting side trips (we saw Musicals in NYC.) In addition, I would suggest bringing along a friend or coordinating with another family. We coordinated DD16 touring 3 schools with a friend who was a year ahead and then toured a Directional U (her safety, we think) with another friend. My older kid toured that same school with a friend. I’ve never been there!
No harm in looking at some schools in NY. Although I could argue that PA weather gets plenty cold as well 
Some schools I’ve heard of that local kids like: Westminster, Juniata, UScranton, Duquesne, St Francis in Loretta PA
There are a large number of people who can’t afford to visit colleges. So the advice is visit after acceptance, to eliminate unnecessary expenses.
DS went to an open house at a local commuter college w/ a friend. It was very short visit, so DS was OK with that. I also had him go to a PASSHE school about 2 hours away just to see what a “campus” was like. Went w/ friends. The guys enjoyed the lunch at the cafeteria.
DH and I attended at open house at Temple. DS qualified for the full tuition scholarship there. He did not want to go. I enjoyed it and it put laid some fears to rest for me.
DS was accepted at UA & didn’t even see the campus until registration. Doing well, loving the school.
Many of his friends didn’t tour the colleges they attend either. They are also happy there, except for one who actually visited a number of schools; he’s transferring out after this semester is over.
Lots of paths to take.
If one truly can’t afford it, then you have to wait or not visit at all. But there are significant downsides to not visiting ahead of time:
- You can only go to so many colleges in that month of April if they don’t release decisions until end of March. Spring ECs are in full swing and they are seniors (important contributors). They still have school, and parents have work. Realistically, it is hard to visit more than maybe 3 schools, unless they are close to home (and there is no reason not to visit those before applying).
- Flights are really expensive on short notice.
- You may be wasting time and money applying to the wrong schools – a school might be a non-starter as soon as you step on campus. So you could actually end up applying to only a small number of schools (or none) where you would be happy. We see students in the spring who are unhappy with all of their acceptances once they visit.
The OP is within relatively easy driving distance, though, and clearly intends to get this visiting done ahead of time.
What if you ask to just do one swing to a couple of schools to start with, and then discuss afterward how to schedule more in the future? Does he have a friend who might want to go? I am not normally in favor of taking friends (can influence your kid too much), but if he is really reluctant it might help.
I know “fit” is a huge topic here, again, there is a whole world outside of CC where that is barely a consideration.
But OP, you have the money and the time, go ahead and insist to your son that he has to visit. Worse case is he resents it and shows no interest at all, or he ends up finding a campus he loves and your golden.
More useful information. Thanks!
@mommdc Thanks for the school suggestions; I am totally unfamiliar with two of them, and had forgotten about Duquesne. BTW, southeastern PA is plenty cold enough for me, as well. S doesn’t ski or hunt; he’s just one of those people who loves the cold.
Agree wholeheartedly,@intparent. Besides the cost to apply and send scores, there is the time issue. My motivated D struggled to keep up with all the moving parts involved in applying to colleges so I know it is time-consuming. S may end up applying to just 3-4 schools; and that will be OK just so long as he likes them (or at least thinks he does; feelings can change on a re-visit), at least 2 are safeties, and we anticipate that they meet our budget.
Considering how much time and money we have spent on baseball over the years (travel teams, overnight stays, camps, etc.), I am happy to pay for gas, hotels, and dinners that are related to college selection. And even though hours in the car can be boring, it’s a nice opportunity to spend time together (this will be my mantra on the way to and from NY).
Yep, this is my plan. We’ll try the weekend trip that I am in the process of arranging, and then will talk about where to go for Presidents’ Day weekend based on his thoughts about the first 3 schools. I don’t anticipate any flights as we have so many options within a day’s drive (other kid is 10 hours away by car and that works for us, although she also travels by bus or flies for major breaks.) Then we can see the schools that are close, fitting them in on Saturdays and the odd days off from school.
A school in NW PA that is also popular is Allegheny College.
@laralei, there is also a huge population of kids who don’t finish college or transfer. Visiting and confirming fit greatly reduces the odds of that happening. You might luck out by just reviewing a school on paper, but remember that what is in their website and in their mailings are marketing materials. It is the shiny, nice side of the college they want you to see. Would you buy a car without driving it? Or a house without walking through it? Why spend less time on something that is so expensive, will be your kid’s home for four years, and will shape them academically and socially for years to come?
if you visit junior year and he becomes interested in a school this may also cause a positive effect on his grades senior year… if that process is delayed until senior year it is still positive but has less impact on the ultimate outcome…
I’d look into whether any of the target schools have bells or whistles that will speak to him – fancy baseball stadium with a Jumbotron, dining hall with late-night pancakes, luxury dorm with private bedrooms?
A spoonful of sugar…you know how it goes. Sometimes bells and whistles can get them to look at a school more closely.