Organizing First Trip to Visit a Few Colleges
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I have an 11th grade DC and am seeking advice about visiting colleges over Spring Break.
Right now, they are all over the place in thinking, partly because school has generally been stressful for them and thus talking about college is an extension of that. But, they DO want to go away to college, and I believe they have the ability to be successful – in part because I think getting out of their pressure cooker high school will be a relief. High school grades are actually pretty good, although with low to medium rigor for their school, where many kids take tons of APs. DC also has some good ECs – including typical part-time job, varsity sport. Given time of year, we’d like to go south from DC and hit a few to give them a sense of differences. We will visit more in later Spring and early summer, probably heading North. And we will visit in-state (MD) schools on occasional day trips. I am stipulating that colleges must be in driving distance, but I’m liberal with that that means (can be more than a few hours – just need to be able to get there by car in a day if necessary in an emergency). Stats are 3.7 UW, 4.0 W Test scores unknown, but will likely be TO at any reaches – will not be high Does not know what they want to major in - thinks possibly sciences, but I suspect it'll change (so we aren't looking for any niche schools with strong focuses areas) Can't do private full pay but could handle $40K-50K Anyone recommend a way to organize a Spring Break trip to dip DC’s toes in the water and get them thinking about different environments? Ideas for specific schools? One that has been mentioned is College of Charleston. |
Anonymous
|
We visited College of Charleston on the same trip as University of South Carolina -both are public schools but they differ a lot in environment.
You could also visit some VA colleges on the way back - just look at a mpa. |
Anonymous
|
Honestly, with those scores and little rigger College of Charleston may be a stretch. South Carolina is definitely off the table. I would look more into the smaller schools for example, Furman, Stetson, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Carolina. All the competitive schools will be looking at rigger, and if your child doesn’t have it with a GPA like that, the choices will be limited, honestly.
Go on college confidential and look at the admit page for College of Charleston. The average is 4.0 with lots of APs. |
Anonymous
| *rigor |
Anonymous
| You should consider doing a Ole Miss and LSU trip. |
Anonymous
| At that stage, we aimed to expose DC to different types of schools, which helped guide the choice after that: urban v. college town, big v. small, public v. private, one with lots of “spirit” (however defined, e.g., big sports following, Greek life) v. less sports/Greek-focused, stem-heavy v SLAC, north of us v. south of us. There are so many schools if you aren’t ginning for highly selective that it will help to just ensure they are qualitatively different. |
Anonymous
|
Agree with your child that you are treating this like going to the mall - and trying things on - and sometimes it is fun to try things on that you would never buy. This allows you to check out a variety of things.
I would drive south and stop at Mary Washington followed by University of Richmond. You can then stop in Richmond for something fun. Continue down to NC State and do another school in the area. Next hit College of Charleston. Spend a day there exploring. I would assume that by now your child is over loaded and done - but based on what you liked / didn't like maybe stop at East Carolina University on the way back? |
Anonymous
|
Is Florida too far? Rollins, Eckerd, Flagler and one of the Florida state schools 11-13 hours) would allow you to combine college visits with something that feels like a vacation.
Flagler has a lower price tag than many schools. Eckerd has merit up to 25k, which could bring within range. Rollins might be a reach, not sure. Florida state schools will give in-state if a grandparent lives there. Could go through Charleston, Eastern Carolina or UNCW on way down or home. |
Anonymous
|
Just a few thoughts.....
I was warned that the first place we took ours to....they'd fall in love with....so choose that 'one' wisely. While that didn't exactly play out for us, one of the earliest in the search still holds the #1 slot. And that was one DC really didn't have on their radar (but, gosh, we insisted!). Don't try to "do" more than one a day. Will the entire family be going and are there younger siblings tagging along? If so, please make it more about the 'trip' and the vacation than (necessarily) about the college visit. Please don't take them a place you just can't afford. Out-of-state public anything gets expensive quick! and while some still offer merit aid, the grades and test scores HAVE to be there. Do NOT depend on getting any sort of financial aid to make it 'affordable'. If possible, sign up for and take any organized 'tours'. Many schools are just starting to post their Spring Semester tour schedules and the ones during K-12 Spring Break fill up fast. If not part of the tour, definitely eat in a campus cafeteria (and not just one of their 'cafes'). Come up with just one 'stock' question and ask it everywhere. Semi-unusual ones (like: 'what's the longest it takes you to get to class?', 'have you learned the alma-mater/fight song yet?' or 'what's the one thing you wish you'd brought from home') usually get answered and often kick-start a broader conversation. Another big "if" -- if your DC knows what kind of program/degree they're seeking and can arrange for a personal meet-n-greet with that department, those are invaluable. Depending on the age/situation of your DC, have them drive part of the way. There's a big difference between an experienced driver doing 4+ hours vs a 'young' driver. They need to know/learn the feel for just how far away is....going away. Have fun and, please, come back and tell us how it went. 
|
Anonymous
|
Liberal going south are you stupid or just bad parenting?
College of Charleston is in red county after 2024 election a red state is no longer safe wake the hell up Oos to red states where book banning and Ben Sasse now at UF you can not be this dumb |
Anonymous
| Sounds like a trip down 95 with a couple stops along the way makes the most sense. I think College of Charleston is a great option. In VA, there’s UMW and VCU or U Richmond. I would also probably add NC State and Elon to the list. |
Anonymous
| and, I just thought to add...if your DC likes sports, try to catch something. Baseball should be in full swing, track and mens tennis are also in season. And if it's music, lots of programs have Springtime concerts and recitals. |
Anonymous
This is the advice my SIL with two kids in college gives. That individual college tours can wait until after acceptance. The important thing is to apply to the type of school your child will thrive in, and in order to do that, you don't have to travel all over the place, just choose ones that offer these different environments. They toured schools before acceptance with the first one, and found it to be 1) unnecessary and 2) more likely to lead to disappointment, as kid may fall in love with schools that may not accept them. |
Anonymous
Are you brainwashed into an idiot or just trying to push your dumb propaganda? |
Anonymous
| Good luck. We are in the process of scheduling some visits over spring break. Stats are 4.0 UW and 4.87 W. We are heading up 95 to visit some schools in PA and NY (Haverford, Penn, and Vassar) before hoping on a plane to visit University of Michigan. The schools vary in size and likelihood of acceptance. She can further refines what she likes and doesn't like in a school. She already has a couple of visits under her belt. |