<p>D is a 10th grader, our first child. Should she start visiting colleges this spring break or wait until the junior year? She has only vague ideas of what she wants to study in college and expressed no particular geographic preferences. I am thinking that we can start out at our local universities this year and visit others whenever we have a trip or vacation. Then we can do it a bit more when time comes. Any input from your experience? Thanks!</p>
<p>If she is amenable to touring colleges, she could start this year on a very low key basis, to get an impression of size and location. For example, she may decide that she likes a smaller LAC more than a huge state University; she may prefer a suburban or urban environment to one that is more isolated. And so on. Keep in mind that she will mature between 10th grade and college and may end up with very different priorities and a different comfort zone. Another thing to keep in mind is the family finances. This will inform the kind of colleges she should consider. She should not worry about what she wants to study. Most students change their minds and most colleges should be able to accommodate their interests.
It’s better to visit colleges when they are in session, which is why highschoolers take advantage of their own school vacations to visit colleges.</p>
<p>Mine started in 10th grade. I felt that sooner is better, and then we could add more schools later and not have a last minute rush. My kids felt embarrassed looking as 10th graders only because the tour guides and some admission counselors have one tell the group what year they are in. Most of the time the majority were seniors scrambling at the last moment, with some juniors in the mix. My kids would usually be the only 10th grader. Then a comment to our 10th grader would be something like, “it is good to start early”. My kids wanted to just disappear at that point. Frankly, now nobody has any regrets about beginning early. My kids also go to school with a lot of kids who tour 2 instate public schools and they are done, so they think that is what is “normal”.</p>
<p>We did some visits in 10th grade, too. It’s not unusual. I think it could be especially valuable for a student who has no idea what she wants. If you could visit at least one large school and one small one, your daughter might be better prepared to start thinking about what she wants. If you could visit at least one urban college and one that is not in a city, that could help, too.</p>
<p>In general, when you visit a college (especially if you’re new to visiting campuses), it’s a good idea to do the campus tour and attend an information session. Some colleges require students to sign up for these events in advance. Check the college’s Web site. I think it’s also nice to drive around the local community a bit to see what it’s like.</p>
<p>Spring and fall was we were able to visit colleges. My sister took my daughter to look at one school during winter because she flew up to Boston to visit her sister. I agree that is is better to be there when school is in session and students present.
Junior year was when we did it</p>
<p>spring break is the best time because many colleges will be in session during HS spring break. There’s only so much you can fit into junior year spring break, so starting sophomore year might not be a bad idea. </p>
<p>For “sophomore visit series” I’d recommend not going too far geographically, but visiting several “types” of colleges: large state school/medium size U/LAC; urban/suburban/rural, etc. This might go a long way at fine-tuning your junior year visits.</p>
<p>For us, for example, a visit to Berkley eliminated the large state schools from the lists of all 3 kids; a visit to LAC eliminated all small schools from the list of the youngest, etc…</p>
<p>We started summer after 10th grade, very informally as suggested by marite. We just walked around whatever college/university we happened to be near. It worked out well, as we found out that “big” was out for D#1 and “small” was out for D#2. That greatly simplified choosing colleges for the Spring 11th grade tours.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the kid. My older son really didn’t want to visit colleges and dh didn’t help by saying why not just wait till he got accepted. In the end I insisted on a jr year spring break tour. He saw four colleges (small, big, urban, suburban, techie not techie, public and private). He thought they were all fine. I decided he was telling the truth that for him - all he cared about was the quality of the offerings in his major. He ended up not being accepted at a single place we visited! So he ended up having a busy April senior year. He’d seen some campuses through summer programs and parent reunions. He was much more focused on what he really wanted when it was a final decision. My younger son (now a junior) went on the spring break trip with the older brother - he was in 8th grade then, I’ll still insist on a spring break trip and possible see something nearby during his Feb. break. It’s more important for him because his interests are much more vague. I hope we can at least make some decisions about size, location or curriculum approach.</p>
<p>Our family will start college visits the summer before 9th grade. From our past experience with D1, sometimes things happened at work that prevented our family to do visits in 10th or 11th grade. So I plan to do college visits as part of our family vacation. Besides it’s a chance to see the rest of USA. I’m tired of long flightd for vacation trips outside of USA.</p>
<p>Hillbilllie, I think you have exactly the right idea, of seeing your local schools when you can, and more distant schools when you can. Between band, academic competitions and sports, our kids had been to most of the local schools by the time they were in 10th grade. However, that did not translate into seeing them as college options. So, I would watch for signs of interest from your child. </p>
<p>Have the earliest visits be about more than the college tour - add a museum visit on campus, or a music performance or ball game. Also, take into account his or her most demanding EC’s. If your child plays a sport, or does theater, etc., there are going to be some times that are impossible to schedule. Don’t forget the plethora of SAT’s and other elements of a teenager’s schedule. You really do need to plan well in advance and use school holidays as effectively as possible.</p>