Trying to make the most out of Spring Break, but knowing my parents cannot fly me all over, and I cannot see everything in five days…are there certain schools that should definitely be seen while regular school year is in session? For example, ones that might have no regular summer courses (so very limited “regular” feeling during summer)?? As opposed to large public universities that seem to always have thousands of people on campus at any time of year?? Focusing mostly on “Top 50” schools, for lack of a better categorization. Thanks!
[Also, if it helps, some specific schools I know I want to visit at some point this next six months:
UChicago
Yale
Caltech
Pomona/ 5 C’s
USC
UCLA
Harvard
University of Washington
Reed]
Maybe prioritize the smaller LACs? At a large university, you will always be able to find your niche. A smaller school may have a more cohesive vibe that might or might not feel comfortable to you.
Alternately, you could group geographically - CA schools, PNW, east coast.
But wouldn’t you have had to purchase airfare by now? Or is any of this driveable from your home?
We did multiple trips, and some were in the summer. It isn’t ideal, but you have to be practical. Grouping geographically is the way to go.
@mamaedefamilia - Thanks for your thoughts. Some of these are driveable (I am in CA) and some are easy enough to fly to with frequent flights from our major airport. If any are too expensive last minute then I will definitely save them for summer with pre-planning flights!
@intparent - Thinking geographical makes sense. Just don’t want to get somewhere in the summer and visit an empty campus with only high schoolers taking courses/ special programs (seems like some small LACs might be like that??). Any you saw in the summer that you really wished you had gone to during the school year?
Four of the unis on your list are in LA so that seems the logical place to start. Trying to see even 4 unis in a week is a real stretch, after awhile they all blend in together (we visited 20) so take copious notes and take lots of photos. After a while you get a better feel of where you would like to be. The LA set is good because you have a small tech school, a consortium, a larger private, and a large public.
My D2 visited the school she ended up attending in the summer. There were tour guides, a few students doing research, and I remember a prof came out of his office to talk to us. She went back for accepted student days to be sure. Remember that you aren’t making your final choice.