@shawk We are taking S24 on a East Coast college tour this spring, in large part because the culture on the East Coast is quite different and particular to the region (full disclosure - I’m an East Coast transplant to the Midwest…culture shock is real).
S24 is convinced he wants to be in the New England region. We’re supportive but also want him to see what the area is like before he applies. He has a mix of targets and likelies on his list, so pretty sure he won’t fall in love with any reaches (those don’t go on the list as we won’t pay for them).
Until we are there this March, we won’t know if he actually wants to go to school in New England; his experience up until now has been coastal vacations in the summer, NYC and tv shows set there. I think it is totally worth the cost of the trip to answer that question before he spends the time and energy on applications.
If he were interested in any schools elsewhere, I probably wouldn’t be so set on him visiting before application season. But right now, that’s where he wants to put all his eggs, so we need to check before he commits to that plan.