<p>Of course there are upsides to a visit, which I just detailed in my prior post. This is a very important decision, and shouldn’t be made based solely on the possibility of eventual disappointment. There’s no need to view this as an either/or situation–if the student is interested enough in Stanford to take a spot on the waitlist, he should certainly visit to gather more information and personal insight, while also learning more about his other college options and getting excited about those too. That seems the more mature approach to take.</p>