Is it too early to do a college visit as a freshman?

[Anonymous]

I was a college tour guide and we occasionally had middle schoolers on our tours. We're used to it.

[Anonymous]

We took our freshman DD to a Juniata open house. It was fine, good experience in what to do for future visits.

[Anonymous]

We wander college campuses if we are visiting somewhere. No formal or informal tours, just wandering to get a vibe. DC is starting to think that large state flagship type schools aren’t for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a wonderful college counselor at her NYC private school. She discouraged this and stressing the kid out prematurely.

She said 10 th grade visits were fine if you were nearby. Yes, we made easily 16 school visits before, during, and after 11 th grade. Yes, I would have liked to have had the time/energy for two more states.

She applied to 9. Got in to 7.

Tell me how you did this.

NP

Probably applied to 3 safeties, 3 matches, and 3 reach schools. In this case, 7 out of 9 is a reasonable result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been wondering this too. It seems like there wouldn’t be enough time to visit more than a couple colleges (that are close together) if you wait until junior yr. Kids have limited time off school

You are correct, this is a big issue.

[Anonymous]

If you happen to be at a far away campus during 9th grade, definitely visit. I think it’s fine to do an official tour if your student is interested. We visited a handful of schools on vacation in 9th grade and it helped us choose the types of schools to tour in later years. We went in with the assumption that if our student wanted to apply ED to a school visited in 9th or 10th grade, we would go back and revisit before submitting the ED app. But if they were applying RD, a “real” visit could wait until after acceptance.

[Anonymous]

We took our 8th grader to Cornell bc we were in Ithaca for a wedding.

[Anonymous]

We toured UVA over spring break freshman year because we wanted then to see/feel and start thinking about college. It wasn't a school on their list, but it was on the way to a relative we were visiting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a wonderful college counselor at her NYC private school. She discouraged this and stressing the kid out prematurely.

She said 10 th grade visits were fine if you were nearby. Yes, we made easily 16 school visits before, during, and after 11 th grade. Yes, I would have liked to have had the time/energy for two more states.

She applied to 9. Got in to 7.

Tell me how you did this.

NP

Probably applied to 3 safeties, 3 matches, and 3 reach schools. In this case, 7 out of 9 is a reasonable result.

I meant how the PP made 16 college visits during junior yr through application time. It seems like it would be a bummer to commit every school break and a large chunk of the summer junior yr on to be orientated around college visits. But unless you start before junior year, I just don’t see how you can get to several colleges in spread out locations otherwise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a wonderful college counselor at her NYC private school. She discouraged this and stressing the kid out prematurely.

She said 10 th grade visits were fine if you were nearby. Yes, we made easily 16 school visits before, during, and after 11 th grade. Yes, I would have liked to have had the time/energy for two more states.

She applied to 9. Got in to 7.

Tell me how you did this.

NP

Probably applied to 3 safeties, 3 matches, and 3 reach schools. In this case, 7 out of 9 is a reasonable result.

I meant how the PP made 16 college visits during junior yr through application time. It seems like it would be a bummer to commit every school break and a large chunk of the summer junior yr on to be orientated around college visits. But unless you start before junior year, I just don’t see how you can get to several colleges in spread out locations otherwise

DP. Most people do not visit 16 colleges - that is unusually high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a wonderful college counselor at her NYC private school. She discouraged this and stressing the kid out prematurely.

She said 10 th grade visits were fine if you were nearby. Yes, we made easily 16 school visits before, during, and after 11 th grade. Yes, I would have liked to have had the time/energy for two more states.

She applied to 9. Got in to 7.

If visiting a college campus as a freshman, when you're there anyway for a football game, stresses your kid out you're doing something wrong.

Seriously. This is a GREAT low-key way to start the search.

[Anonymous]

By the time my senior made their list, the factors that were important to them had completely shifted. I think freshman year is too early for official tours. Going to a football game is one thing, but sitting through the presentation and touring for something 3 and a half years away is not a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a college tour guide and we occasionally had middle schoolers on our tours. We're used to it.

Official ones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By the time my senior made their list, the factors that were important to them had completely shifted. I think freshman year is too early for official tours. Going to a football game is one thing, but sitting through the presentation and touring for something 3 and a half years away is not a good idea.

Totally depends on the student. My DS is attending the school he's wanted to go to since 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not do an official admission tour. Simply take a walk around campus before/after the game and leave it at that for now.

Come back in two years if the school is still a potential option. The student is not going to remember official tour details three years from now.

Agree 100%