<p>you are welcome and if I can jump in for those still looking, for mine, the college visits helped solidify what he wanted in a school environment. for example, during one trip, we realized he was big city or bust, while out in Cali, we realized how hard it was for him to stay in touch, even with texting, with his E coast friends due to the time difference. That turned out to be turning factor in his process that he does not want to start school in Cali. He at least initially wants to stay in touch with friends while he makes the college adjustments. He visited an Ivy and realized he liked the feel of a huge state school way more which played a role in not even applying to Ivies or other smaller schools. We had talk that it was not a matter of finding the “best” school in the country, rather we were looking what was the best school for him. Ur kid will have different experiences but what they learn other than the actual campus visit while doing the tours can also be invaluable. one random thing for him was he saw a lot of happy dogs and committed dog owners in Philly. this may sound totally random but for him, it was not as he realized how hard it would be to have a dog in an urban environment and people taking these extra steps not only to have dogs but take them to a park and play with them(without 300 signs in the park that prohibited dogs) made a good impression on him and gave Philly a + mark in his book.</p>