College road trip/tour planning
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Anonymous
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First child is a rising junior so it's time to do some focused college tours. I'm not completely sure where to start. She is already stressed out and I want to keep it as non stressful as I can. I'm thinking I'd like to start with some "typical " schools (ie: urban, suburban, college town, rural, and then size differences too-maybe under 2000, 2-6, 6-12 and over 12k?)
And not get too hung up on specific schools yet. Is this a good plan? Any itineraries you'd like to share? Any books/resources as we start this? We are in DC area. Tia |
Anonymous
A good place to start is to invest in the Fisk college guide (available at B&N). That guide will outline to you each of school's characteristics (e.g., test core range, what the school is know for, what type of student activities). We have found the guide invaluable in that it allows you to match the school with your DC's interests, traits, and potential career aspirations. Buy the guide and spend some reading it as soon as you can. While reading, you may want to open a bottle of wine and have a glass or two while reviewing in order to prepare you for how much it will cost! Good luck and happy college touring. |
Anonymous
I've heard others recommend that basic plan--check out a small school, and medium-sized one, and a big university including one more rural and one more suburban/urban or different parts of the country. Your kid can get a sense of "this seems right to me" or "I would be lost here" or "this would be claustrophobic" which then could help narrow down which schools he or she would be interested in focusing on. |
Anonymous
If you want to lower the stress, build a couple of campus visits into a family vacation. That way it's not just "all campuses, all the time". |
Anonymous
| Are you in VA? Makes a big difference in college search/tour planning. |
Anonymous
| I did two college tours with each kid. One to decide where to apply and a second to pick between schools they got into. I made the kids have vaguely decent reasons for choosing the schools they did, and made them choose within our financial parameters. |
Anonymous
| Start local in the fall. Use days like Columbus day, Jewish holidays, etc. to do day trips. Assuming she's got good stats start with schools like UVA, W&M, Georgetown and Hopkins. If less good then Tech, AU, maybe Catholic. You can do a PA swing to see either the central PA schools (Gettysburg, Dickinson, F&M, etc) or the Philly schools (Haverford, Swat, Bryn Mawr, maybe Penn). At that point she should have a good sense of what she likes and you can then start looking more seriously. |
Anonymous
| Two other suggestions from a parent of a rising college freshman who just finished this process. Start with a college that is not likely to be high on the list so DC can just get the feel of it all. If your child has never done a college info session and tour, DC has no idea what to expect and half of what he/she hears will go over his head -- and maybe yours too -- but it's a good way to get your feet wet. Also best to avoid schools that you think may wow your child until mid way through the process so that he/she stays open minded about other schools he/she sees. Once you do start on a real list of possible schools, I suggest you look at some matches and safeties before reach schools for this reason too. |
Anonymous
| Also, stop by colleges not on the list for a drive by. Ex. even if she is not interested in Randolph Macon, it is just a five minute drive from I95. It gives the kids a "feel" for colleges. |
Anonymous
| Decide beforehand what you as a family can afford. My old SLAC is not $65K a year not including airfare and definitely not worth it. How many kids do you have? What can you afford after taxes? A lot of these smaller liberal colleges, IMHO, are just not worth the excessive fees. Please don't dangle a carrot in front of DC if you can't afford full freight for 4-5 years (a lot of kids are now taking 5 years to comoplete). |
Anonymous
| Virginia is good for a week's tour. We did VT, UVA, JMU, GMU, VMI, Washington & Lee (VMI and W & L are next door to one another), and Randolph Macon on one tour. Also Sweetbriar if you have a DD. |
Anonymous
Curious what SLAC are you referencing? Which did you attend? We are interested in the SLACs but we are hearing what you said from others as well Perhaps we just go Virginia and let the chips fall where they may. |
Anonymous
This, a thousand times this. Determine your budget first. Next, develop a plan based on your state of residence. UMCP is tremendous value for the money if one can get in. Things are even better in VA because there are several other decent schools even if your kid is not accepted in UVA or W&M. There is also a choice of very big, mid-sized and small colleges. Once you've considered all your in-state options, make a plan for out of state/private colleges within your budget. |
Anonymous
| If this is stressful for her why not do a visit with a local school that she's really not interested in attending. That would be a low pressure way to get a sense of what goes on at these tours. She can wait until spring to start visiting schools she interested in. |
Anonymous
West coast but after having toured many on the east coast, I have to say many SLACs or LACs just aren't worth the $65K a year. Period. We're aiming for VA universities since we live there. $9500 for tuition for multiple kids can allow for savings for grad school later. $65K a year for multiple kids won't. |