<p>We started the cycle of initial visits during my daughter’s junior year. Because of the demands of the audition process, I thought it important that my daughter get a more informed sense of the schools to which she intended to apply. As it turned out, it was time well spent for a couple of reasons. One school came off her list entirely. If she had not visited prior to applying, it would have made her audition season that much more, and unnecessarily, time consuming. In addition, visiting in advance of applying gave her the opportunity to speak in depth with department reps and get insights into the audition process and what the program was looking for. The information about auditioning went far beyond what is available from most websites and included things such as how auditions are scored, weight given to voice, acting and dance and even tips on preferred periods for songs. Visiting in advance also assisted my daughter in reaching decisions about how she wanted to prioritize the sequencing of her auditions. It also made the audition day less stressful since we were familiar with such basics as where to park and how to find the building we needed. While there are distinct advantages to visiting while school is in session so that you can see things in action and talk to students, visiting at down times can still provide important opportunities to just see the physical facilities and glean a wealth of information from department reps.</p>