<p>I visited 2 state schools in September of his senior year…We applied to 11 schools total. After award letters I visited 3 of the strongest and most affordable. I didnt see the point of showing my son a school who in my case does not give much aid.</p>
<p>…Visiting all schools is fine and dandy if you have beaucoup cash just sitting around for flying out to schools all around the country! Or if your daughter/son is so persnickety that every aspect of the school from dorm rooms to smell would turn them off from even APPLYING…
^ Words from my mom lol. Thought I’d post it here. Low-income people don’t have these lovely options. I’m sorry but for me the idea that I would be all set for a school, love the programs on paper, love everything about it and then get there and be all “OH NO! There are jocks everywhere!” (collegep.r.o.w.l.e.r., friends, etc. can tell you that) or “OH NO! The buildings are run-down!” (Last I checked I wanted an education, not to spend four years in a postcard…) And if you don’t apply to that school, you just wasted anywhere from $20-$1000 in travel! PER SCHOOL! Seriously? Who has this money and could they lend me some?
I’m applying to 15 schools all across the country and will thank my lucky stars if I can visit one…
<em>End rant</em></p>
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<p>A good reason for a campus visit, though it’s hard for those of us who live in the middle of nowhere (a day or days away from good schools).</p>
<p>I only visited schools after I applied and was accepted. After narrowing it down to 2-3 colleges, I then visited them. Because it was by car, I stopped by some other colleges I had not thought of going to but still decided to visit. Some of those visits swayed me and actually made me interested in the school - I was impressed. If I had never visited these colleges, then I would have never even considered going there and could have passed up a great school! Visit - it allows you to experience the atmosphere, the food, ask as many annoying questions you have and getting away with it, and try to answer that “Can I see myself here for the next four years?”</p>
<p>I think it’s a lot easier to visit if you live East of the Mississippi. We could visit 100 school’s within three hours of our house. There are about a couple of hundred in Pennsylvania alone. [List</a> of colleges and universities in Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Pennsylvania]List”>List of colleges and universities in Pennsylvania - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I think it’s surprising how different a college can look on paper compared to IRL. As others have said, I’ve visited colleges with my kids that seemed a perfect match but when we get there, it’s obvious that they just won’t work.</p>
<p>^PA has a ridiculous number of private colleges.</p>
<p>We happened by quite a few schools when my S was a soph/jr but D was wholly NOT interested. His aunt drove us around to about 4 CA Us & when we went to any area of the country for any reason, we visited the Us in the area, just to see what they were like. Both D & S came along. We saw schools in CO & NY. They both have some limited familiarity with HI Us. Our friend also drove us around to look at 3 Us in LA.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that S did NOT apply to most of the schools he visited. The school he ended up attending is one he never stepped foot on the campus (tho he did speak with the dean of the engineering college when she was in HI). Yes, it is nice and good for students to try to see & get on various campuses, IF it is practical. It is NOT essential, because kids & anyone can learn to love where they are planted. The more info the person has to make an informed decision, the more datapoints they have. A visit can supply/fill in many datapoints.</p>
<p>For us, it was not worthwhile to invest a lot of time & resources visiting “reach” schools. Others we know only toured reach schools in the spring after their kids had been accepted and when they were making final decisions about which school to attend. Visits from HI are a considerable investment of time, airfare, and lodging.</p>
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<p>Visiting is an expensive extra for many people. Local visits, just to get a sense of flavor (big versus small, private versus public, university versus LAC) are on the $20 scale, and if you don’t think investing $20 for a college visit is worth it, then nothing I say is going to change your mind. :)</p>
<p>We didn’t visit, back in the day. Even locally. I went off to college without having visited the campus until orientation. It wasn’t something I envisioned ever doing with a child of mine. I also never envisioned paying over $200k for a child’s undergrad education. On that scale, spending a few hundred bucks to visit a contender is due diligence. Again, this isn’t something everyone can afford, but it can be worth it for some. One school that on paper looked to be a perfect fit for D1 was one that she hated after visiting. Another that she thought she was going to hate, and that I insisted we visit as a possible safety, she ended up really liking.</p>
<p>I will add one other benefit that may help some kids–visiting a number of schools may help dispel the idea that there is one “dream” school, and that failing to get in there would be a disaster. When my son and I visited, he could see himself at pretty much all the places–including those that were “safer” admits. This actually reduced the pressure of the whole process. I will also add that the trip was a fun bonding experience for us (your mileage may vary on this part).</p>
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<p>It could also have the exact opposite effect and make some kids fall hopelessly and irrationally in love with a school. </p>
<p>I’ve seen it happen.</p>
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<p>It appears that campus visits are more important to girls than to boys, do I get that right? Also, other things can be done/purpose served while traveling, not much an inefficient use of time and money.</p>
<p>lake, girls are more likely to be interested in smaller schools…and those are the schools you really need to visit.</p>
<p>I don’t think this is a girl-boy thing at all. I think it’s a matter of priorities. My youngest son is very focused on the programs themselves. My oldest son realized that he didn’t want a technical college or to live in the city. My daughter didn’t know what she wanted until she attended accepted student visits. My daughter applied to both PSU and small liberal arts colleges but all had rural or semi-rural locations.</p>
<p>It is a luxury to be able to visit schools far from home, and I am grateful that we have been able to do it. The process has helped my daughter tremendously. First trip last spring had the mix of large/small, urban/rural, and helped her focus on what she wanted and didn’t want. And yes, there were surprises-- she had a fantasy about Boston College, for instance, but really disliked it once we were there. A year later, she had a much more clear and focused wish list, so we planned the trip we just concluded accordingly, and she now has a very good short list of schools she loves. One was a surprise-- I added it kind of last minute, and thought she probably wouldn’t like it, but it might be number one.</p>
<p>For really big universities it may not matter much, but for smaller liberal arts colleges, it helps a whole lot to do the tour and info session, eat lunch in the cafeteria at prime time, get coffee at the campus coffeehouse, and meet a professor and/or sit in on a class if possible.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my D will be attending a school that did not really grab her on the campus visit in August. There were other schools on her list that she liked better on the visits and that later accepted her. But after the decisions were in, she looked more deeply into each school and program and all their offerings and happily decided on the school that didn’t impress her so much on the visit. Of course, this was August (another time was not an option), the campus was very empty, it was drizzling out and she’d already been to a bunch of schools. I would just say based on this that you shouldn’t give too much importance to a superficial impression (and don’t cross off any just because of a tepid reaction). There are many more important factors when it comes down to it.</p>
<p>“It appears that campus visits are more important to girls than to boys, do I get that right?” - I think it simply depends on the student, not the gender. </p>
<p>Yes, it is a luxury to see particular schools far from home early. But intial investigations (big vs small, city vs rural) can be done with nearby schools. It does seem prudent to visit the top choice(s) before making the final decision.</p>
<p>So all the comments convinced me that we should go campus visit. We will possibly visit some colleges this summer. The problem is that can a prospective student sit in a class, visit a dorm, and other activities during summer because students are not on campus?</p>
<p>You can usually see a dorm room during the summer – at some schools, you can ONLY see a dorm room during the summer.</p>
<p>If you’re looking at state colleges, it’s not that necessary because they are so diverse and large. However, if you are considering private colleges, then it might be important. I have never been to a college where I got bad “vibes”, other than small, rural religious schools, which I knew I wouldn’t want to visit anyways.</p>
<p>Visits are more important at small schools, where the risk is showing up in the Fall and hating the campus culture and vibe, with the small size making it inescapable. Small private schools will sometimes/often pay for their most desirable needy students (without parents) to visit. Overnight visits, attending classes, are clearly the best. There’s no guarantee that a visit presents an accurate overview; it just lowers the risk of a misfit.</p>