How many college trips?

[Anonymous]

My DD is a junior and will be busy over spring break so we are planning college visits at other times. She's interested in schools in three different regions of the country. We've planned two trips for long weekends this fall (when she has a day or two off from school) but she's starting to worry about the time away. How many of these trips do most families take and what is your timing?

[Anonymous]

Go in the fall if it's a school YOU want her to go to. Pretty weather, rah-rah-spirit, etc.

Go in the summer if you aren't too keen on her going there. The campus will be lacking spirit and seem empty. Oh, and tromping in 100 degree heat makes a school seem less desirable too :p

[Anonymous]

We did mostly short trips. The most we saw at once was 3 schools. We visited 14-15 schools total over about 16 months. Most were long weekends (Friday/Saturday) or day trips. I think DC missed only 1-2 days of school. I think that worked well because they didn't all blur together. We are about to start the process again and will do the same, although may use a portion of spring break.

Agree with PP about summer visits. They are okay but all you are really seeing is a bunch of buildings.

[Anonymous]

For our kids it was more important to focus time during junior year on schoolwork and sports commitments. They also really wanted to have some time during spring break that was just devoted to vacation. This limited the time we could spend visiting colleges, but we still managed to see 8-10 schools with each one. We kept the trips short -- no more than 1 school per day and no more than 3 in a trip -- otherwise they just start to blur together. I will encourage our youngest to hone her list even more -- maybe 6-8 schools.

[Anonymous]

DD isn't college-age yet, but here's what my family did. We actually took my school's 2wk spring break and made it a college tour of the east coast (we lived in the Midwest). Drove to DC and visited Gtown, GW and AU. Down to Charlottesville to see UVa and then onto North Carolina to see UNC and Duke. Along the way we'd build in some tourist time and spent nights with friends or relatives rather than almost 2wks in hotels.

On one hand, it was brutal. On the other, seeing all my top choices back to back really helped me distinguish and narrow down my list.

[Anonymous]

OP again -- it sounds like our approach is the norm. Fly into an area for a long weekend and take in two schools, maybe three. She has about 10 or 12 schools on her list right now but I don't expect her to see more than 8 or so during this school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again -- it sounds like our approach is the norm. Fly into an area for a long weekend and take in two schools, maybe three. She has about 10 or 12 schools on her list right nruthless[/u]ow but I don't expect her to see more than 8 or so during this school year.

I think you're so, so smart to be starting this early in junior year. We only saw two schools by the time the summer before senior year rolled around. Consequently we did the "big tour" while all the campuses were empty in the summer and then struggled to see three more schools with interviews during the fall of my daughter's senior year. It was a struggle working around her sports schedule. We did a total of 5 trips. Be aware that most of the SLACs (if that applies in your child's case) require or strongly urge interviews so that will add to the time at any school. I do agree with a PP that you can't schedule too, too many visits in one trip unless it's broken up by vacation time, family visits, etc. Also, I don't think it's realistic to only apply to 6 schools unless you are ruthless about doing your homework and carefully identify safeties, targets and reaches - even then I'd never apply to fewer than 8 schools in the current admissions climate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again -- it sounds like our approach is the norm. Fly into an area for a long weekend and take in two schools, maybe three. She has about 10 or 12 schools on her list right nruthless[/u]ow but I don't expect her to see more than 8 or so during this school year.

I think you're so, so smart to be starting this early in junior year. We only saw two schools by the time the summer before senior year rolled around. Consequently we did the "big tour" while all the campuses were empty in the summer and then struggled to see three more schools with interviews during the fall of my daughter's senior year. It was a struggle working around her sports schedule. We did a total of 5 trips. Be aware that most of the SLACs (if that applies in your child's case) require or strongly urge interviews so that will add to the time at any school. I do agree with a PP that you can't schedule too, too many visits in one trip unless it's broken up by vacation time, family visits, etc. Also, I don't think it's realistic to only apply to 6 schools unless you are ruthless about doing your homework and carefully identify safeties, targets and reaches - even then I'd never apply to fewer than 8 schools in the current admissions climate.

Most people apply to 6-8 schools, so that's not unheard of.

We've taken two trips so far, one spring break of junior year and one this summer. I recommend driving if there are a lot of schools you want to see. You can plan your route around them. Also, some schools are in for a summer session (just visited Dartmouth, their sophomore class does a summer quarter) so they won't all be deserted.

[Anonymous]

7:06 -- Applying to 6 schools is fine if you make wise choices; better yet, if DC has a clear first-choice, s/he can apply early and, with luck, that will be the only application s/he has to do! Re interviews -- yes, most SLACs strongly recommend or require interviews, but very few require them to be done on campus. For most schools, interviews can be scheduled with local alums. Finally, try to allow time at each school to do more than the tour and info session. Have lunch on campus, attend a class, go to a game or performance -- this will give your DC a better sense of the vibe on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:7:06 -- Applying to 6 schools is fine if you make wise choices; better yet, if DC has a clear first-choice, s/he can apply early and, with luck, that will be the only application s/he has to do! Re interviews -- yes, most SLACs strongly recommend or require interviews, but very few require them to be done on campus. For most schools, interviews can be scheduled with local alums. Finally, try to allow time at each school to do more than the tour and info session. Have lunch on campus, attend a class, go to a game or performance -- this will give your DC a better sense of the vibe on campus.

I think some of the private schools have good enough college counseling that applying to 6 schools makes sense. But if the college counseling isn't top notch at DCs school, and as a parent you haven't been through the process in the last few years, I think 6 schools is a big gamble. I'd feel much more comfortable about 8.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that, even with the common app, your DC will have to write at least 1 additional essay for each school s/he applies to. The essay prompts can vary quite a bit, so you can't always just tweak a standard essay to suit the school -- and even when you can, tweaking takes time. The supplementary essays often carry more weight with admissions staffers because they spend so much time devising the prompts. For many students on the cusp, the supplementary essay can carry the day.

[Anonymous]

We did two college trips. One trip to scope out the schools the twins thought they wanted to apply to. A second trip after they'd gotten acceptances to figure out for sure where they wanted to go. The first trip was much longer than the second.

[Anonymous]

PP here- also keep in mind your DD does not have to visit every school she applies to. If there are schools your daughter is very interested in and has extensively researched online but you can't fit in a visit before senior year fall, she can apply anyway and you can visit over winter or spring break. DC's college counselor pointed this out, and I found it helpful because DC was interested in a school in Colorado and we just couldn't make a visit before the application due date.